Dispose of Halloween gourds at the Will County Pumpkin Smash

When your pumpkins start to lose their luster, don’t drop them into the trash or dump them in nature – smash them at the Plum Creek Nature Center in Crete.

The Forest Preserve District of Will County’s 2023 Pumpkin Smash is set for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4.

Registration is not required. Just show up with your pumpkins and choose their method of demise. You can pound them to a pulp, roll them into a heap or drop them over a railing.

After a fun day of smashing pumpkins, participants will be treated to a fire and roasted s’mores and hot dogs.

Last year, Plum Creek collected 988 pounds of pumpkins. After the pumpkins are collected and cut into pieces by volunteers, they’re placed in composting bins at Plum Creek to decompose and become a natural fertilizer for soils.

The Plum Creek program is a part of SCARCE, an environmental education organization based in DuPage County. SCARCE promotes composting pumpkins to help the environment by avoiding greenhouse gas emissions in landfills. Since 2014, SCARCE has composted 1,012.40 tons of pumpkins.