Compost your pumpkin events Nov. 2 in DuPage County
Local towns, park districts, libraries, churches and schools are hosting pumpkin composting events on Saturday, Nov. 2. Rather than placing pumpkins with other curbside refuse that will be landfilled, residents are encouraged to drop off their pumpkins for composting. Pumpkins are full of nutrients that are good for the soil and are 90% water. As most of the pumpkins processed in the U.S. are grown in Illinois, composting pumpkins here helps keep the water and nutrients local. SCARCE first brought this event to DuPage County in 2014 and has since diverted more than 254 tons of pumpkins from landfills.
For a complete listing, go to www.scarce.org/pumpkins/.
Bartlett:
The Village of Bartlett with SCARCE, a nonprofit organization committed to keeping "stuff" out of the landfill by reusing or recycling, is hosting its fourth annual pumpkin composting event from 9 a.m. to noon at the Metra parking lot, Eastern and Bartlett Avenue. Regular or decorated pumpkins are allowed, but please remove yarn, stickers or any plastic items before composting. For details, call the village at (630) 837-0800.
Carol Stream:
The Village of Carol Stream will be partnering with eWorks, SCARCE, Flood Brothers Disposal, and DuPage County to host a Pumpkin and Electronics recycling event from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Water Reclamation Center, 245 Kuhn Road. It is open to residents and nonresidents. Green your Halloween! Drop off your pumpkins for composting at this event. There is a per-unit fee for recycling televisions and monitors: $25 for under 21 inches or $35 for 21 inches and over. Cash and credit cards accepted; no checks. All items should be delivered unboxed and free of excess packaging materials. Items not accepted include: large and small appliances, hazardous and chemical waste, smoke detectors, and wooden speakers. It is open to passenger vehicles only; no box trucks, semis, etc. If you have more than 50 items (three pallets or greater) please contact eWorks to arrange for a special pickup. Donation fee will apply for all televisions and monitors. Acceptable items include: computers and peripherals (PCs, main frames, modems, printers, monitors, terminals, tape drives, CD-ROM, drives, floppy disk drives, plotters, mouse, keyboards, scanners, cables); office equipment and products (telephones, phone systems, answering machines, fax machines, copy machines, cellular phones, pagers); and home entertainment and other items (TVs, VCRs, DVD players, stereo equipment, joy sticks, cameras, camcorders, video game players). For details, visit www.carolstream.org.
Downers Grove:
The AP Environmental Science programs will host pumpkin composting events from 9 a.m. to noon in the parking lot at Grant and Main at Downers Grove North High School, or at Downers Grove South High School, 1436 Norfolk St.
Elmhurst
The City of Elmhurst will again collect used pumpkins the first Saturday after Halloween at the public works facility, 985 S. Riverside Drive in Elmhurst. Stop by between 9 a.m. and noon. Visit www.elmhurst.org.
Glen Ellyn:
St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 393 N. Main St. in Glen Ellyn, will host its annual pumpkin collection from 9 a.m. to noon in the parking lot on Hillside.
Lisle:
The Village of Lisle will be collecting pumpkins for composting from 9 a.m. to noon in the village hall parking lot, 925 Burlington Ave. Pumpkins should be clean. Please remove any candles, yarn, stickers, or other decorations prior to drop-off. Visit www.villageoflisle.org.
Naperville:
Naperville Park District will host the annual "Pumpkin Smash" from 9 a.m. to noon at the Ron Ory Community Garden Plots, 811 S. West St. Drop off your jack-o'-lanterns for composting. Remove any candles, metal or decorations (including stickers, yarn, googly eyes, etc.) before dropping off. In 2018 they composted over 5,000 pounds of pumpkins. Visit napervilleparks.org/kknc.
West Chicago:
The West Chicago Environmental Commission and the Green Disciples of the First United Methodist Church of West Chicago have teamed up again in 2019 to collect pumpkins for composting. Volunteers will be on hand to help with tossing pumpkins into the specified dumpster from 9 a.m. to noon at First United Methodist Church, 643 E. Washington St. Visit westchicago.org.
Westmont:
The village of Westmont will host a Pumpkin Composting and Bulb Recycle Event from 9 a.m. to noon at Westmont Public Library, 428 N. Cass Ave. Bring your pumpkins to be composted as well as their T6 and T8 light bulbs that need to be recycled to the Library. All pumpkins must be cleaned free of inorganic materials such as candles and other decorations prior to being disposed in the composting collection container. Visit westmont.illinois.gov.
Wheaton:
The City of Wheaton's Environmental Improvement Commission will once again host a "Pumpkin Smash" drop-off for pumpkins right after Halloween. Remove decorations first. The event will take place from 9 a.m. to noon in the commuter parking lot 9 at Liberty Drive and Carlton Avenue. Visit www.wheaton.il.us.