![[UGCCHI-CJ-kids at play]FW: good CUBS DECORATED PUMPKINS FROM SHRINERS HOPSITAL STAFF FOR CHILDREN](https://media.nbcsandiego.com/2019/09/3ba89ec3f99f4608ab299a93f10da423.JPG.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&resize=218%2C123)
Another Halloween has passed, and now there's the question of what you do with the beautifully carved Jack-o-Lanterns on your doorstep. Well now you can avoid the guilt of having to throw your pumpkin in the trash, and recycle your pumpkin instead!
Council member Chris Cate and the Environmental Services Department are hosting their 2nd Annual Pumpkin Recycling Event the day after Halloween. This is meant to help the city meet its goal in reducing the amount of waste over the next few decades. They plan to divert 75 percent of all trash by 2020, then 90 percent by 2035, and then go 100 percent "zero waste" by 2040.
![[UGCPHI-CJ]Nightmare before Christmas Halloween pumpkins](https://media.nbcsandiego.com/2019/09/b29202f9801a4d05aa9d90199327c62a.jpeg.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&resize=218%2C123)
The US department of agriculture says almost half of all American families end up carving pumpkins for Halloween. And that means a lot of pumpkins get thrown out the day after. They also say the average pumpkin weighs about 13 pounds, which mean thousands of pounds of pumpkin gets tossed every year after Halloween. But this pumpkin recycling program was able to reduce a lot of that waste last year.
"Last year, we collected thousands of pounds of pumpkins from hundreds of families. I am pleased that we will again be offering District 6 families in Clairemont and Mira Mesa the opportunity to recycle their pumpkins the proper way,"
COUNCIL MEMBER Chris Cate
You can drop your pumpkin off at the North Clairemont Recreation Center on Bannock Avenue, or at the Mira Mesa Senior Center any time from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Local
But if you can't drop off your pumpkins today, the city is encouraging people to put your pumpkins into yard waste bins. But make sure there's no paint on them!
