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Saturday, November 8, 2025
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Pumpkin Smash Turns Fall Decor into Compost and Community Fun
November 7, 2025
Lehman College’s 2025 Pumpkin Smash brought the campus and community together to keep post-Halloween pumpkins out of the trash and feed the College’s onsite composting operation. “It’s a great way for me to release stress and to recycle and reuse the pumpkins instead of just throwing them away,” said attendee Eileen Mazariegos, a business administration major.
The annual event, produced in partnership with the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG), highlights the importance of reducing landfill waste and demonstrates easy steps—like composting—that consumers can take to help. Most of the pumpkins are donated by NYBG after dismantling its autumn display of heirloom squash and gourds. Community members also brought their leftover Halloween jack-o’-lanterns.
Community members wait in line to smash their Halloween pumpkins.
“In order to prepare the pumpkins for composting, we smash them,” said Ilona Linens, Lehman’s director of Environmental Health and Safety, who oversees composting of landscape waste on campus and co-chairs its Sustainability Council. The afternoon yields “about three tons of green material” to mix with collected leaves, she said.
While many pumpkins in the colorful pre-smash pile were inedible, participants were encouraged to take home and use those that were. Mazariegos noted that she may bake some into treats for her family. Squash-smashers also sampled vegan pumpkin muffins and made pumpkin art.
In addition to promoting Lehman and NYBG’s sustainability efforts, Lehman student and community organizations use the event to raise awareness about nutrition, food justice, and recycling.
You can see more photos from the event here.