Pumpkins wait to be smashed and turned into compost at the Great Pumpkin Smash. (Photo provided)
October 29, 2026
Smash, toss or spear old pumpkins at SIU’s Great Pumpkin Smash
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Jack-o’-lanterns past their prime can go out with a bang at the Great Pumpkin Smash. This free, family-friendly event is from noon to 3 p.m. Nov. 7 at the Southern Illinois University Farms Service Center, 2704 Union Hill Road, Carbondale.
Participants are welcome to bring pumpkins to smash with bats and hammers or toss from ladders and a scissor lift. Touch of Nature Outdoor Education Center will also run an atlatl area, where people can use the ancient spear-throwing tool to hurl darts at pumpkin targets.
Pumpkin remains will be transported to SIU’s forced-air composting facility. Or, bring a 5-gallon bucket and fill it with fresh compost to take home. The event is open to the public, and registration is not required.
Pumpkins must be free of candles, stickers, glitter, yarn and synthetic decorations.
The SIU Office of Sustainability and Touch of Nature partnered with the Jackson County Health Department and the SIU Sustainable Farm to find a better destination for the season’s leftover gourds. Millions of pumpkins decorate porches each Halloween but most end up in landfills. This year, organizers hope to keep more than 2.8 tons out of them.
Andrew Taylor, coordinator of campus outdoor programs and sustainability, said the event shows that sustainability at SIU “can be both fun and impactful.”
“By bringing our students and local community together to give pumpkins a second life through composting, we’re helping reduce waste while showing that small, everyday actions can make a difference,” he said.
Taylor hopes visitors “leave with a better understanding of how they can make more sustainable choices at home and in their communities,” he said.
For more information, call 618-453-2906 or email andrew.w.taylor@siu.edu.