(3-minute read)
Reading Composts! and the Reading Department of Public Works are inviting residents to skip the trash can this fall and smash their old pumpkins instead. The town’s first Pumpkin Smash is set for Saturday, November 7, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm in the Reading Memorial High School Performing Arts Center parking lot.
Why Reading started a Pumpkin Smash
A Reading DPW backhoe sits waiting in the department’s gaage ahead of its turn at the Pumpkin Smash breaking targets. Photo provided by Reading Composts!
Organizers with Reading Composts! said they learned of similar events in other towns last spring and saw an opportunity to keep pumpkins out of the trash while teaching residents about the benefits of composting food waste. The group said the event aims to show how small changes, like composting instead of tossing a pumpkin, can add up.
Pumpkins are roughly 90% water, which organizers said makes them heavy and costly to dispose of in Reading’s trash stream, since the town incinerates its trash. According to organizers, food waste makes up as much as 30% of trash by weight, and the town has been working to reduce what it hauled away and burned.
How it Works
No registration is required. Residents can simply show up with their pumpkins, which should be free of paint, glitter, and candles beforehand, though some cleaning supplies will be available on site for anyone who forgets. Volunteers will weigh each pumpkin on arrival so residents can see how much weight they are keeping out of the trash stream.
After the event, Black Earth Compost will haul all smashed pumpkins to its facility in Machester-by-the-Sea, where it will compost them. Organizers noted the pumpkins will not go to the town’s compost area on Strout Avenue, which is reserved for yard waste.
Smashing options
Volunteers will monitor the smashing activity throughout the event, which will include several ways to take aim, among them:
Throwing pumpkins at targets on Black Earth’s Carnival Truck
Tossing pumpkins into the bucket of Reading DPW backhoe
Throwing pumpkins at a spike wall, a basketball hoop, or a target set up behind the backhoe’s bucket
More to see and do
Beyond the smashing, the event will include a pumpkin-themed bake sale, face painting, fall crafts, and a Coastal Coffee Nitro Cold Brew cart. Residents can also enter a composting tips raffle by writing down their favorite tip for reducing food waste, visit an information table to learn what can and can’t be composted, and see curbside and home food-waste bins on display.
A Reading DPW sweeper waits in the Highway Division garage, one of the vehicles set to appear at the Pumpkin Smash. Photo provided by Reading Composts!
The event will also include a touch-a-truck opportunity, featuring three large vehicles: Black Earth’s Carnival Truck, the DPW’s backhoe, and the DPW’s street cleaner.
The event is not a fundraiser, but bake sale proceeds will go to the Reading Food Pantry. Residents are also encouraged to bring a nonperishable food item to donate.
Rain Plan
The Pumpkin Smash will go on rain or shine, with Black Earth’s Carnival Truck and the DPW’s backhoe both on site regardless of weather, though organizers said some activities may not be possible if conditions turn severe.
Part of a broader composting push
The event ties into the town's ongoing efforts to reduce food waste headed for the incinerator. Reading offers starter kits, a bin, and a roll of compostable liners to residents who sign up for Black Earth’s curbside food-waste pickup, and the town offers outdoor compost bins at a reduced price. The town also plans to add a Community Drop-off bin for food waste at the DPW site on Walker’s Brook Drive soon.
Organizers said separating food waste from trash leaves household trash lighter and less smelly, and helps deter rats and other rodents.
The DPW has been a strong partner in planning the event, organizers said, and the department supports making the Pumpkin Smash an annual tradition that could grow in size and offerings in the years ahead.
Reading Composts!, a six-year-old local volunteer group that promotes composting and food-waste reduction, organizes the Pumpkin Smash in partnership with the Town of Reading.
Graphic provided by Reading Composts!
