Join in Pumpkin Smash events around the suburbs
The Pumpkin Smash is an annual effort by communities to divert pumpkins from landfills by providing locations for residents to drop-off jack-o'-lanterns to be composted. Bring your pumpkins and gourds for composting, but remove any candles, decorations, and other materials. Non-toxic paint is acceptable.
In 2025, there were 125 registered Pumpkin Smash sites. They composted over 200.2 tons of pumpkins (that’s 400,393 pounds). Pumpkins are 90% water, so composting them helps conserve water and nourishes the soil.
For up-to-date information on the Pumpkin Smash locations and times, go to scarce.org or your community’s website.
SCARCE at 800 S. Rohlwing Road in Addison also will host a second Pumpkin Smash from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Nov. 28, for Thanksgiving pumpkins.
SUNDAY, NOV. 1
7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
• Skokie: Skokie Farmers' Market, 5127 Oakton St., Skokie; sponsored by Village of Skokie.
10 a.m. to noon
• Oakbrook Terrace: Lake View Nature Center, 17W063 Hodges Road; sponsored by Oakbrook Terrace Park District
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Round Lake: Metra Overflow Lot at corner of Goodnow and Avilon; sponsored by Village of Round Lake and SWALCO
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 4
9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Winnetka: Winnetka Public Works, 1390 Willow Road; sponsored by Village of Winnetka.
FRIDAY, NOV. 6
8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Warrenville: Warrenville Park District parking lot, 3S260 Warren Ave.; sponsored by Warrenville Park District.
4:30 to 6 p.m.
• Highland Park: The Preserve of Highland Park, 1207 Park Ave.; sponsored by Park District of Highland Park.
SATURDAY, NOV. 7
8 to 11 a.m.
• Mount Prospect: Public Works Department, 1700 W. Central Road; sponsored by Mount Prospect Public Works Department
8 a.m. to noon
• Carol Stream: Ross Ferraro Town Center, 960 N. Gary Ave.; sponsored by Village of Carol Stream
• Hinsdale: Community House of Hinsdale, 415 W. Eighth St.; sponsored by Hinsdale Rotary
• St. Charles: St. Charles Public Works Facility, 1405 S. Seventh Ave.; sponsored by St. Charles Natural Resources Commission
9 to 11 a.m.
• Glen Ellyn: Village Green Community Gardens, 130 S. Lambert Road; sponsored by Glen Ellyn Park District
9 a.m. to noon
• Arlington Heights: Frontier Park, 1933 N. Kennicott Drive; sponsored by Arlington Heights Park District
• Barrington: Barrington High School Upper Field of Dreams parking lot next to the Hart Road, 616 W. Main St.; sponsored by Village of Barrington
• Bartlett: Parking lot by water tower, 138 E. Bartlett Ave; sponsored by Village of Bartlett
• Bensenville: Village hall parking lot, 12 S. Center St.; sponsored by village of Bensenville
• Darien: Hinsdale South High School stadium parking lot, 7401 Clarendon Hill Road; sponsored by Hinsdale South High School ECO Club
• Downers Grove: Downers Grove North High School, 4436 Main St.; sponsored by Downers Grove North High School
• Elgin: Elgin High School, 1200 Maroon Drive; sponsored by City of Elgin; and Advocate Sherman Hospital, 1425 N. Randall Road; sponsored by University of Illinois Extension
• Elmhurst: Elmhurst Public Works facility, 985 S. Riverside Drive; sponsored by City of Elmhurst
• Evanston: Old Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave.; sponsored by City of Evanston
• Geneva: Geneva Community Gardens at Prairie Green Preserve, 698 Peck Road; sponsored by Geneva's Natural Resources Committee and Park District
• Glen Ellyn: St. Mark's Hillside parking lot, 393 N. Main St.; sponsored by St. Mark's Episcopal Church
• Grayslake: Grayslake Public Library, 100 Library Lane; sponsored by Grayslake Central High School environmental students
• Gurnee: Gurnee Village Hall, 325 N. O'Plaine Road; sponsored by Village of Gurnee and SWALCO
• Itasca: Itasca Public Works, 411 N. Prospect Ave.; sponsored by Village of Itasca
• Lincolnshire: North Park, 1025 Riverwoods Road, Lincolnshire; sponsored by Village of Lincolnshire and SWALCO
• Lisle: Lisle Village Hall parking lot, 925 Burlington Ave.; sponsored by Village of Lisle
• Lombard: Lombard Common Park, 433 E. St. Charles Road; sponsored by Lombard Junior Women's Club, Lombard Park District, Village of Lombard, Waste Management, and Kiwanis Club of Lombard
• Naperville: Ron Ory Community Garden, 811 S. West St., Naperville; sponsored by Naperville Park District
• Naperville: Peterson Elementary, 4008 Chinaberry Lane, Naperville; sponsored by Peterson Elementary School Garden & SCARCE
• Park Ridge: Park Ridge Public Works Service Center, 400 Busse, Park Ridge; sponsored by city of Park Ridge
• Rolling Meadows: Rolling Meadows Community Center, 3705 Pheasant Drive; sponsored by Rolling Meadows Park District/Public Works
• Roselle: Clauss Recreation Center Maintenance Barn, 430 Mensching Road, Roselle
• South Elgin Pumpkin Smash & Recycle Event: Public works department, 1000 Bowes Road, South Elgin; Free and open to all Kane County residents. Bring your carved and whole pumpkins, gourds, corn stalks and corn bunches (Note, spray-painted pumpkins go in trash, small to moderate amounts of craft paint are OK; remove twine and/or wire from corn stalks and bunches; and no hay bales). Also collecting household batteries (max. weight of 11 pounds per battery — no car/marine/large backup batteries); fluorescent and LED light bulbs (max size: 4-foot tubes; no 6- or 8-foot tubes, no fixtures); ink jet printer cartridges (small, from home ink jet printers, no toner cartridges). Sponsored by Kane County Recycles
• Villa Park: VFW Post 2801 parking lot, 39 E. St. Charles Road; sponsored by Go Green Villa Park
• Westmont: New location, the commuter parking lot next to Westmont Village Hall, 31 W. Quincy St.; sponsored by Environmental Improvement Committee
• Wheaton: Commuter Lot # 9, Carlton Avenue & Liberty Drive; sponsored by City of Wheaton Environmental Improvement Commission
9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• West Chicago: New Hope United Methodist Church, 643 E. Washington St.; sponsored by New Hope United Methodist Church and Village of West Chicago
• Wilmette: Village Hall, 1200 Wilmette Ave., sponsored by Village of Wilmette, Wilmette Park District, and Go Green Wilmette
9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Arlington Heights: First Presbyterian Church parking lot, 303 N. Dunton Ave., Arlington Heights; sponsored by First Presbyterian Church of Arlington Heights
9:30 a.m. to noon
• South Barrington: South Barrington Conservancy, 1 Glacier Circle; sponsored by Village of South Barrington
10 to 11:30 a.m.
• Hanover Park: Hanover Park Park District, 1515 Walnut Ave.; sponsored by Environmental Committee
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Hoffman Estates: Public Works Center, 2305 Pembroke Ave.; also, the public works department’s annual community open house; sponsored by Village of Hoffman Estates
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Des Plaines: Prairie Lakes Community Center, 515 E. Thacker St.; sponsored by City of Des Plaines and the Des Plaines Park District
10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Glencoe: Glencoe Community Garden, 380 Old Green Bay Road; sponsored by Glencoe Community Garden
Noon to 3 p.m.
• Northbrook: Northbrook Court near Nieman-Marcus, 1515 Lake-Cook Road; sponsored by Village of Northbrook
• Wauconda: Township Office, 505 W. Bonner Road; sponsored by Wauconda Township and SWALCO. Free compost giveback at this event.
Noon to 4 p.m.
• Bolingbrook: Hidden Oaks Nature Center, 419 Trout Farm Road; sponsored by Forest Preserve District of Will County
SUNDAY, NOV. 8
Noon to 2 p.m.
• Addison: Links & Tees Golf Club parking lot, 900 W. Lake St., Addison; sponsored by Addison Park District; If you miss the event, drop off the pumpkin in the composting bin on Nov. 7-8. The bin will be picked up on Monday morning.
FRIDAY, NOV. 13
Noon to 3 p.m.
• Wheaton: DuPage County campus, 421 N. County Farm Road; sponsored by DuPage County Environmental Committee
WEEKDAYS IN NOVEMBER
• Wauconda: Lakeshore Recycling Systems, 1350 N. Old Rand Road, Wauconda; sponsored by LRS Waste Service hours: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays