Looking for a new home for your pumpkin now that Halloween is over? Well, Houston might have the solution.
The city is collecting pumpkins — carved, guts or otherwise — now through next Wednesday as part of a program looking to keep pumpkins away from landfills and send them to compost bins. Houstonians can drop off their former jack-o’-lanterns every day other than Sunday at the Reuse Warehouse at 9003 N. Main St.
Collection hours start at 9 a.m. and run through 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1 p.m. on Saturday. Take off extra material, such as costumes and decorations, before dropping your pumpkin off.
The program has composted more than 24,000 pumpkins since the program was piloted in 2021.
There are also programs looking to get pumpkins out of landfills and into the mouths of farm animals. All We Need Farms in Needville is looking for pumpkins, and anyone interested can message the farm on Facebook.
Farm for Pigs is also facilitating donations around Texas. Golden ‘N Dirt Farms in Crosby has been picking up old pumpkin donations since last year, and owner Amy Wood has collected several hundred pumpkins this season to be fed to pigs, chickens, sheep, and ducks. Reach out on the Farm for Pigs website for more information.
The All We Need Farms Facebook page is here. As the story notes, food waste in landfills generates a lot of methane gas, so less of that would be good. Also, who wouldn’t want to feed some goats and pigs? It’s an easy call.