By Heather Goudreau, Natural Resources Commissioner

The St. Charles Natural Resources Commission is excited to host the annual Pumpkin Smash on Saturday, November 5th.  Last year we collected 797 pumpkins and we hope to smash that number in 2022.  This is a drive through event, making it quick and easy to get your pumpkins composted, saving them from the landfill.  You can drive through and let volunteers unload your pumpkins; or you can get out of your car to smash, throw or roll your pumpkins into the collection dumpster.  Either way, the pumpkins will make their way to a composting facility!

The annual Pumpkin Smash was started by SCARCE in 2014.  Last year St. Charles was one of 59 sites collecting pumpkins throughout Illinois.  Since 2014, 538 TONS of pumpkins have been composted through this program, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and diverting water and nutrients from landfills.

Any size pumpkins are accepted, no pumpkin is too big or too small, including jack-o-lanterns and gourds.  All non-organic matter must be removed: no candles, no string, no stickers, no plastic.

Load up your pumpkins, offer to grab your neighbor’s pumpkins and head on over to the Pumpkin Smash.  The collection runs 9:00am-Noon at the Public Works Parking Lot located at 1405 South 7th Avenue.