Put Your Pumpkins in Your Leaf Piles
It's pumpkin time, Madison! Spice up your curbside leaf piles with this season's jack-o-lanterns.
Streets Division crews will collect pumpkins, gourds, hay, corn stalks, and other compostable plant decorations along with your leaves and other yard waste materials.
Remove wires, paint, candles, lights, string, and similar items from your pumpkins and other compostable plant decorations before you set them out with your fall leaves and yard waste.
Set your pumpkins on top of your leaf bags or piles.
When to Set Pumpkins, Leaves, & Other Yard Waste Out for Collection
Use the Streets Division's yard waste website to learn when to set the material out for pickup.
Set your leaves, yard waste, and pumpkins out for pickup on the date provided. Collection occurs during the work week following the set-out date.
More Options to Compost Your Pumpkins
Use a Food Scraps Drop-off Site for Your Pumpkins
The Streets Division has food scraps drop-off at all three drop-off site locations.
The Westside Community Farmers' Market that's open on Saturday mornings has a food scraps drop-off location. The market will be open on Saturday, October 31 and November 7.
Dane County Scrap Stops are a year-round option to drop off certain allowable food scraps.
Go to a Pumpkin Composting Event
The Dane County Waste and Renewables department is hosting multiple pumpkin drop-off locations around Dane County on November 7, 2026.
For details about this Dane County Department of Waste and Renewables event, check out their website.
Take Them to a Drop-off Site and Put Them With the Leaves
City of Madison residents can bring pumpkins and other yard waste material to one of the Streets Division's drop-off sites, too.
Check the Streets Division's drop-off site website to get the hours, locations, and site restrictions.
Drop-off site hours will start winter hours on December 4, 2026 so be aware of this upcoming change.
Try Composting at Home
If you are a home composter, or you would like to start, add your pumpkins to your pile.
Pumpkins are a great source of nitrogen, and a good way to offset carbon from fallen leaves.
The Streets Division's website has many resources available for you to start home composting.
For Additional Information
Go to the Streets & Urban Forestry Division's website for more information about leaf & yard waste pickup and the many other services provided.