Put Your Pumpkins in Your Leaf Piles
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Spice up your leaf piles with this season’s jack-o-lanterns.
Streets Division crews will collect pumpkins, hay, corn stalks along with your leaves and other yard waste.
Remove wires, candles, string, electric lights, and similar items from your pumpkins and other decorative gourds and plants before you set them out with your fall yard waste and leaves. Your pumpkins, and other items, should not have paint, leftover candle wax, or other non-compostable materials on them if you are placing them out for yard waste pickup.
Set your pumpkins and other compostable decorations on top of your leaf bags or piles.
When to Set Pumpkins & 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
Remember, to compost your pumpkins, they cannot have paint on them. You also need to remove the candles, wires, lights, and other non-compostable items.
Use a Dane County Scrap Stop for Your Pumpkin
On Saturday, November 8, the Dane County Department of Waste and Renewables will be hosting a “Squash Your Waste” event from 10:00am to 2:00pm at their Henry Vilas Zoon Scrap Stop location.
The Dane County Scrap Stops are a year-round option to drop off certain allowable food scraps.
Pumpkins and other gourds are okay for these containers.
Details about the Dane County program and information about how to sign up to use the year-round Scrap Stops are available on the Dane County food scraps website.
Take Them to a Streets Division Drop-off Site for Composting
City of Madison residents may also bring their pumpkins and other yard waste material to one of the Streets Division’s drop-off sites.
Check the Streets Division’s drop-off site website so you know the hours of operation, locations, and site restrictions. The locations may be different from the last time you visited.
Drop-off site hours will change to winter hours following the Thanksgiving holiday.
Try Composting at Home
If you are a home composter, or you would like to start, use your pumpkins. They 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
Visit the Streets and Urban Forestry Division website for further details.
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