Soon, the Halloween whirl will have come and gone, leaving our teeth delightfully rotting from candy goodness along with those pumpkins on your front porch.
While your teeth must stick around in your head, our rotting pumpkins will likely relocate, but their fate doesn’t have to be the trash can!
Did you know? In the United States, over 1 billion pounds of pumpkins are thrown away each year, which is more than 80% of the pumpkins purchased for Halloween.
Compost pumpkins at home
Your compost is perfect food for the earth. If you have a backyard space, you can allow your pumpkin to properly decompose to create healthier soil.
- Clean your pumpkin up – remove any decorative materials that won’t break down such as painted parts, wax, glitter, etc.
- Remove the pumpkin innards unless you want pumpkins sprouting back next year – this includes all seeds and as much of the “pulp” as you can.
- Once the inside of the pumpkin is cleaned out, smash/break down the pumpkin as much as you can.
- Mix your pumpkin with plenty of brown material like dead leaves, to keep the carbon to nitrogen ratio healthy.
- Expect it to take 5–10 days for your pumpkin bits to start rotting. Note that thicker rinds take longer to compost, so you may need to cut these into even smaller pieces.
Compost pumpkins with a local service
If you don’t have your own compost pile in your backyard, you can drop off your pumpkins at a local composting organization. But make sure to remove any decorative material that is paint, wax, glitter from your pumpkins first.
Composting options in the St. Louis area:
- Total Organics Recycling, October 1–December 1, 2025: Compost your pumpkins at one their nine locations – see locations here.
- Earthday365, November 1–December 6, 2025: Thanks to our partnership with North Newstead Association, Eathday365 is once again offering two convenient drop-off locations: 4125 Humphrey St (Parking lot with Marian Middle School)in South City, and 4601 Pope Ave in North City.
Enjoying your pumpkin before composting
While the earth will enjoy your pumpkins through composting, you can also make the most of your pumpkins before they hit the rotting stage.
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One way is to create a delicious pumpkin puree that can be used in a number of recipes for muffins, breads, soups and more.
Another option is to roast your pumpkin seeds. With some seasoning, these make a tasty Halloween treat.
Whatever leftover pumpkin you have can go into the compost.
Discover More: Pumpkin Spice Plants
Additional Sustainability Resources
Whatever your question, the Garden’s sustainable-living experts are at your service! We can help you:
- Find green products and services
- Evaluate green claims
- Plan your green home or lifestyle project
Contact us at greenresources@mobot.org or at (314) 577-0246.
The Missouri Botanical Garden provides resources for advancing sustainability:
We aim to support and educate about energy efficiency, reducing waste, controlling storm water, improving indoor air quality and saving money.
Angelina O’Donnell | Sustainability Program and Events Specialist
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