Smashing pumpkins at English High this Saturday

So many pumpkins, but here's some time to get rid of them in a more environmentally friendly way: The city of Boston Zero Waste team, Boston Green Academy, the South Street Youth Center and Mothers Out Front will hold a pumpkin-smashing and composting event at the English High School track, 144 McBride St. in Jamaica Plain, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. this Saturday.

The pumpkin smash will get the composting cycle started. You can break up your pumpkin at the hoop toss, off the T-ball stand, on the smash board or in the smash booth, or just toss it in our pumpkin compost dumpster. Instead of causing pollution, smashed pumpkins will head to Garbage to Garden, where they will help make healthy soil.

By smashing instead of trashing your pumpkin, you will help solve an urgent problem. Every year in the U.S. an estimated 1.3 billion pounds of pumpkins are added to landfills or garbage incinerators where they produce greenhouse gasses that contribute to climate change. Food waste in landfills is the third-largest source of human-related methane emissions in the United States, equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of 20.3 million cars.

The event is on rain or shine.