Village of Hennepin

Illinois Extension hosts community composting events Whether picking out pumpkins from a field or carving fun faces for jack-o’-lanterns with friends, pumpkins naturally give off fall vibes. But what happens when they start to decay on the porch or countertop, and it’s time to say goodbye? Where do they go? Many think that a thrown-away pumpkin will break down and disappear. Not exactly. The reality is, pumpkins are organic waste that fills landfills, releases greenhouse gas methane during decomposition, and leaches water through trash piles to nearby waterways. Illinois is consistently the top producer of pumpkins in the U.S., so that adds up to piles of pumpkins filling landfills. Instead, choose to smash and recycle pumpkins at a local University of Illinois Extension Pumpkin Smash community composting event in early November. The events will have a dumpster to recycle pumpkins with a smash. “Seeing the growing number of tons of pumpkins diverted from landfills getting larger year-t...