EDGEWATER — Chicagoans can easily compost their Halloween pumpkins this year — by smashing them to bits.
Two pumpkin-smashing events are set for Saturday in Andersonville and Edgewater, one of which will be part of an eco-fest debuting in the Andersonville business district. The events are intended to keep pumpkins out of landfills.
The Pumpkin Smash Festival is 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday on Catalpa Avenue between Clark Street and Ashland Avenue. The street fest will allow attendees to smash their Halloween jack-o’-lanterns at four smashing stations, with each station providing a different way to destroy the pumpkins.
There will be more than 20 vendors at the festival, including Nuts to Go, Adorn Candles & Home Fragrance, Dimo’s Pizza and Fjällräven Chicago.
The event is bring-your-own pumpkin, and tickets to smash a pumpkin cost $5. To register to smash a pumpkin, click here. All participants must sign a liability waiver.
The discarded pumpkins will be collected and composted by WasteNot Compost, which has partnered with the Andersonville Chamber of Commerce to provide composting services to local businesses.
Entry to the fest is a suggested $5 donation.
The third annual Edgewater Pumpkin Smash is noon-4 p.m. Saturday at the parking lot at 6040 N. Clark St., just north of the fire station.
The free event allows residents to drop off their pumpkins for composting or to get in the fun and throw them into a giant compost bin.
In its first two years, the pumpkin smash has helped divert more than 8 tons of pumpkins from area landfills, according to Edgewater Environmental Coalition, the group behind the event.
Pumpkins brought to the event should be free of non-compostable materials, including candles or plastic decorations.
For more on the Edgewater Pumpkin Smash, click here.
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