Robert Reed
We grow a whopping 2 billion pumpkins a year in America. Illinois and California are the biggest producers. The bulbus gourds decorate Halloween and other autumnal celebrations. Markets display pumpkins in lots of colors and shapes, reminding us that nature produces unique forms.
Pumpkins are rich in good-for-you vitamins, fiber, and minerals, justifying eating a good-sized slice of pie at holiday gatherings. The nutrients in pumpkins also support composting. Let no jack-o’-lantern shell or pumpkin rind go to landfill.
“I always compost my giant pumpkins. All that dense biomass breaks down and enriches the soil for next year’s giant pumpkins,” says Brandon Dawson, whose 2,346-pound gourd won top prize at 52nd Annual Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-off held on Oct. 13, 2025 in Half Moon Bay.
Dawson and others competing in pumpkin-growing contests use compost to improve soil health. Applying compost feeds the microbial colonies that add life to topsoil. Compost also softens soil and helps it retain water. That allows plant roots to travel further through the soil and reach more nutrients.
Recology, a resource recovery company, supports all forms of composting. Recology pioneered curbside food scrap collection for composting in San Francisco in 1996 and provides the service in more than 100 cities on the West Coast.
The success of the program helped inspire a change in state law requiring all cities and counties in California to implement programs to help keep compostable materials out of landfills. To comply, municipalities up and down the state are replicating San Francisco’s curbside composting collection program. Other states and many large cities are following suit.
Enjoying pumpkins as a healthy food and composting the skins and stems is a great example of Recology’s philosophy to “make full use of what you have.” Composting keeps compostable materials out of landfills, reduces methane emissions, and provides nutrient-rich compost, a soil amendment, for local farms. The nutrient-dense produce grown with compost helps feed our families.
The bottom line: Composting is truly local recycling in action.