Don’t let your Halloween pumpkin end up in a landfill this November.
According to the Department of Energy, more than 1 billion pounds (454 million kilograms) of pumpkins rot in U.S. landfills after Halloween each year.
No need to waste your stuff. Experts say pumpkins can also be eaten, composted, and fed to animals. Here’s how:
Dishes using pumpkin scraps
If you carve a jack-o-lantern, don’t discard the skin or guts. All parts are edible.
After carving, the excess pulp (the thick part between the outer skin and the inner pulp that holds the seeds) can be diced and made into soups and stews, says Carly Bodrug, a chef known for cooking with common food scraps. You can also puree it and add a tablespoon to your dog’s dinner for extra nutrients. You can also freeze pumpkin chunks for future use.
“Seeds are a treasure trove of nutrients,” Bodrug says. Rich in protein, magnesium, zinc and healthy fats, according to a 2022 study published in the journal plant.
One of Bodrug’s recipes involves removing the seeds, washing them, and roasting them with cinnamon for a crunchy snack or salad topping. Next, use the stringy innards to make pumpkin puree for muffins. This version is different from the canned puree sold at grocery stores. Usually another type of pumpkin or squash is used. This is because carved pumpkins have a firmer interior and a milder flavor. The carved pumpkin innards can still be used in baking. You just need more seasoning to enhance the flavor.
A child carves a pumpkin on his front porch on October 20, 2023 in Auburn, Maine. (Andriy Khan/Sun Journal, Associated Press, File)
If you don’t want to eat your pumpkin, you can donate it to a local farm and it may be used as feed for pigs, chickens, and other animals.
Edible parts should be collected while carving, before painting or decorating, or leaving on the porch for several weeks. Paints and waxes are not food safe and bacteria and mold can grow on your skin in outdoor climates.
Once you’ve cooked what you can and donated what is safe to eat, composting the rest is the easiest way to keep it out of the landfill.
“That way, even if it’s not safe to eat, you’re giving something back to the planet,” Bodrug says.
Compost at home or donate to a farm
Composting your pumpkins keeps them out of methane-emitting landfills and turns them into nutrient-rich soil instead. You can do this at home or drop it off at your local farm, compost bin, or drop-off location.
“The vast majority of what ends up in landfills could have been composted,” said Dante Sclafani, compost coordinator at Farms in Queens County, New York. “So even just cutting down something like a pumpkin can reduce the number of trash bags you put out each week.”
Remove candles, plastic, glitter, and other decorative items before composting. They can contaminate the compost. A little glitter or paint won’t ruin your pile, but it’s best to clean it as much as possible before tossing it in. Next, cut the pumpkin into 1-inch (2.5 centimeter) pieces to help it crumble.
“Squash has a high water content, so it’s important to fill your compost bin with a balanced mix of dry leaves, wood shavings, sawdust, shredded newspaper, cardboard, straw, and any other dry, organic material,” says Sclafani. If you don’t maintain this balance, your compost can start to smell bad.
Pumpkins sit at Togus Family Farm in Northborough, Massachusetts, Oct. 5, 2025 (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, a healthy compost pile should contain a roughly 3-to-1 mix of “greens,” such as pumpkin scraps and food waste, and “browns,” such as dead leaves, straw, and cardboard. This balance allows for faster pile decomposition and prevents odors.
And what if your pumpkin has been sitting on your porch all month? It’s actually ideal. “We never go overboard when it comes to compost,” Sclafani said. “Even if it’s mushy or moldy, it’s actually helpful because the fungus accelerates decomposition.”
“Composting anything organic is better than throwing it away because it doesn’t add to the landfill and doesn’t create methane gas,” said Laura Graney, the farm’s director of education.
Grainy said fall on the farm is a great time to teach children about composting because it gives them a sense of strength in the face of major environmental challenges.
“Even if the kids are small, composting helps them feel like they can make a difference,” Graney says. “They take that message back to their families and that’s how we spread the word.”
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