11 tons of pumpkins composted at Naperville Park District's Pumpkin Smash

More than 400 Naperville residents brought leftover Halloween pumpkins to the fifth annual Pumpkin Smash at the Ron Ory Community Garden Plots on Saturday, Nov. 6.

They smashed the previous record of 14,529 lbs. of pumpkins in 2020, bringing a total of 22,416 lbs. of pumpkins this year to be composted into the garden soil.

Participants could either stay in their cars and let volunteers weigh and smash their pumpkins or they could get out and smash the pumpkins themselves, after having them weighed.

"A special thanks to our crew of volunteers who helped run the event," said Nature Center Manager Angelique Harshman.

The Naperville Park District event was one of more than 40 other pumpkin collections in the Chicago area coordinated by SCARCE, a local environmental organization.

Composting pumpkins keeps waste out of the landfill, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and creates a natural fertilizer for our soil.