November 02, 2026
Molly McVety/PhillyVoice
Need to get rid of your jack-on-lanterns now that Halloween is over? Here's where to compost your pumpkins and leaves this autumn.
When the jack-o-lanterns on the front step start decomposing, it's time for them to find a new home.
But putting them out for trash collection means that they're headed straight for the landfill when they instead could be turned into compost for next year's gardens. Leaves also can be collected by regular trash pickup, but they can be made into mulch if dropped off at certain locations in Philadelphia.
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Some 2 billion pounds of pumpkins are produced in the United States every year, and Pennsylvania is among the six states that produce the most, according to the National Environmental Education Foundation. An estimated 1.3 billion pounds get thrown into the trash after they're done being used as porch decor. They then release methane, a harmful greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere.
Certain varieties of whole pumpkins can be made into baked goods and savory dishes like risotto and lasagna. Any pumpkin that's been carved, though, is better off being remade into soil.
Circle Compost customers can chop up their Halloween pumpkins and place them inside a bucket as part of their usual curbside service. People who are not Circle customers, but live within its service area, can request their pumpkins be picked up for $4 per pumpkin.
Philadelphia's other main composting service, Bennett, also is accepting pumpkins from customers if they're placed in their buckets for pickup. It also is hosting a pumpkin smash event from noon to 2 p.m. on Nov. 14 at the Spring Gardens at 1832 North St. Pumpkins can be crushed for compost at no cost, though donations are accepted.
Fox Chase Farm, an agricultural facility run by the School District of Philadelphia, is holding a similar event on Nov. 14 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 8500 Pine Road. Pumpkins must be untreated and unpainted. Apple launching, live music and a vendor market follows the smashing portion of the day.
For those less into the physical crushing, whole pumpkins also can be taken to the city's 13 compost drop-off sites. Some are member-only, but most have bins that are put out for food waste and yard scraps one day per week.
November also means the start of the city's Leaf Recycling Program, which runs through Dec. 19. Bags of leaves can be brought to collection events or the city's sanitation centers. Leaves also can be bagged and put out for regular trash collection, but those won't be composted.
Leaves collected from driveways, stoops and yards also can be brought to the Fairmount Park Organic Recycling Center at 3850 W. Ford Road. In exchange, city residents can get up to 30 gallons of organic material such as compost and mulch each time they visit.
But for those who want something a closer to home, the city is hosting leaf collection events at 16 sites from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Nov. 7, Nov. 21, Dec. 5, Dec. 12 and Dec. 19. To be accepted, leaves must be bagged in brown paper bags, which are biodegradable. They also can't be combined with other yard waste like weeds, brush and tree limbs.
Here are the 16 leaf collection sites:
| Collection Site | Neighborhood |
| 1400 Cottman Ave. | Castor |
| South 15th and Bigler streets | South Philly |
| North 43rd Street and Powelton Avenue | Powelton |
| 4800 Wayne Ave. | Germantown |
| North 54th Street and Woodbine Avenue | Wynnefield |
| 7901 Ridgeway St. | Fox Chase |
| North American and West Thompson streets | North Philly |
| South Broad and Christian streets | South Philly |
| Castor Avenue and Foulkrod Street | Frankford |
| East Cathedral Road and Ridge Avenue | Upper Roxborough |
| Corinthian Avenue and Poplar Street | Fairmount |
| West Gravers Lane and Seminole Street | Chestnut Hill |
| Washington Lane and Ardleigh Street | East Germantown |
| 4300 Chester Ave. | Spruce Hill |
| South 52nd and Pine Street | Garden Court |
