For pumpkin disposal after Halloween, the best place for a plain pumpkin is a compost stream, not the trash: a city compost or organics cart where your city takes them, a yard waste drop-off site, or a pumpkin-smash event in early November. Scrape out the candle wax and pull off the paint, glitter and stickers first. A painted pumpkin usually goes in the garbage cart, and your city’s own rule decides which cart a plain one goes in.

Photo: Carved jack-o’-lanterns rotting after Halloween in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. daryl_mitchell, 2014-10-30. CC BY-SA 2.0 · Source. Resized for web.

Why pumpkins stay out of the landfill

A pumpkin is food waste. In a landfill it rots without air and gives off methane, and University of Illinois Extension notes that decaying pumpkins also leach water. Properly composted pumpkins do not produce methane. Food is about 24% of the material in municipal solid waste landfills and is responsible for 58% of landfill methane emissions to the atmosphere, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates.

What to take off first

Every program below asks for the same thing: only the pumpkin goes in.

  • Candles and wax. Take out the candle and scrape out the wax. Portland also asks residents to remove glow sticks and lights.
  • Paint, glitter, marker and stickers. These are not compostable. Minneapolis sends a pumpkin with paint, permanent marker, glitter or jewels to the black garbage cart, and Portland sends painted pumpkins to the trash.
  • Ribbons and other decorations. Illinois Extension lists ribbons with candles and paint as things to remove before a pumpkin smash.

A carved pumpkin with nothing added is still just a pumpkin. King County, Washington, puts it simply: carve your pumpkins, don’t paint them, and they can go in the yard waste cart or a home compost bin afterward.

Curbside cart, drop-off or smash event: city rules

Where a pumpkin goes depends on the carts your city runs. Each rule below is that city’s or county’s own.

  • Minneapolis: the green organics recycling cart, with no bag; homes without organics service put pumpkins out with yard waste.
  • Portland, Oregon: the green compost cart, for houses up to fourplexes. The cart limit is 135 pounds, so the city suggests spreading a big load over several weeks.
  • Austin: the green composting cart, once the paint, stickers and glitter are off.
  • King County, Washington: the yard waste cart, or a home compost bin.
  • Saint Paul and Ramsey County: the county’s yard waste sites accept pumpkins, including the four in Saint Paul (Battle Creek, Frank and Sims, Midway and Summit Hill). Ramsey County asks that pumpkins arrive free of glitter, paint, wax and candles, and not go in the trash or food-scrap bags.
  • Chicago: no curbside compost cart. The city’s food scrap drop-off sites take pumpkins from residents who sign up, and the pumpkins must fit inside the carts, not sit beside them.
  • Washington, DC: the food waste smart bins and weekend drop-off sites. DC asks residents to remove paint, glitter and stickers and to cut pumpkins into chunks of about 3 inches.
  • Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio: SWACO’s Recycling Convenience Center at 2566 Jackson Pike takes pumpkins and gourds from October 1 to December 14, free of candles and paint.
  • Denver: the city’s LeafDrop sites took leaves and pumpkins in fall 2025. Denver posts each season’s sites and dates on its LeafDrop page.

The yard waste cart is not a safe guess everywhere. Dublin, Ohio, a Columbus suburb, says pumpkins cannot go in its yard waste pickup because they do not break down like grass and leaves, and runs a separate drop-off instead. In Clark County, Washington, yard debris carts take pumpkins only in October and November, and Camas and Washougal do not take them at all.

Pumpkin-smash events and drop-off dates in 2026

These 2026 dates come from the organizers’ own pages:

  • Illinois: University of Illinois Extension lists pumpkin smash events around the state at go.illinois.edu/PumpkinSmash. One is Saturday, November 7, 2026, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Veterans Park, 1800 E. University Drive, Macomb.
  • Brooklyn Park, Brooklyn Center, Crystal and New Hope, Minnesota: the Hennepin Recycling Group takes pumpkins November 1 to 9, 2026, at New Hope Church, 4225 Gettysburg Avenue, New Hope.
  • Dublin, Ohio: pumpkin drop-off October 19 to December 14, 2026, at the Dublin Service Center, 6555 Shier Rings Road.
  • Howard County, Maryland: Pumpkin Palooza, Saturday, November 21, 2026, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Miller Branch library.

Other counties and cities post their own dates. Search your county or city solid waste page for “pumpkin” before Halloween week.

Composting a pumpkin at home

Pumpkins can go in a backyard compost pile, which Illinois Extension recommends over the trash. Chop or smash them first to speed up decomposition, then mix and turn the pile to work in air, Illinois Extension advises. Pumpkins are wet, so in a tumbler or closed bin watch the moisture and add dry leaves if the mix turns soggy.

Don’t leave them out for wildlife

Illinois Extension warns against tossing pumpkins into forest preserves or ditches, which counts as littering and can be illegal. State wildlife agencies also advise against leaving pumpkins out as feed:

  • Illinois: the Department of Natural Resources says feeding pumpkins to wildlife can bring damage complaints and spread disease, including chronic wasting disease in deer.
  • Wyoming: Game and Fish asks residents to dispose of pumpkins rather than leave them out, because mule deer cannot digest unnatural foods and pumpkins draw bears and raccoons.
  • Arizona: feeding wildlife is illegal in Maricopa, Pima and Pinal counties, which include Phoenix.
  • Washington State: feeding deer, elk and moose has been illegal since May 17, 2025.

Some county newsletters still suggest leaving pumpkins out for birds and squirrels. Where a state wildlife agency says otherwise, its rule is the one to follow.

What this is not

  • A food scrap cart is not the same as a yard waste cart. Some cities take pumpkins in one and not the other. Your city’s list decides.
  • A drop-off date from last year is not this year’s date. Programs such as Denver’s LeafDrop and DC’s farmers market pumpkin drop-offs post new dates each fall.
  • A painted or glittered pumpkin is not compost. In Minneapolis and Portland it goes in the trash.