There’s a new way to dispose of your pumpkin this year as the city is hosting it first ever Pumpkin Smash.

It is being held at McArthur Island Park from 10:00 to 2:00 on Saturday, November 2. Environmental Services Coordinator Emily Lomas says it will help ensure those pumpkins will be composted. “In the process we’re going to have some fun by smashing them up with a few different activities. We’re going to ave bucket chucks where some of the older kids can be harnessed up and see their pumpkin smash from up high. We are going to have some activities for the younger kids as well like pumpkin bowling and pumpkin piñatas and a few other things.” Lomas says other community organizations are getting on board as well. “Be sure to be around at 1:00 because we will have Kamloops Fire and Rescue there with their really big ladder truck dropping some pumpkins from some pretty big heights so that will be fun for the whole family.”

Lomas says if you can’t make it to the fun event, you can still take your pumpkins to a yard waste facility for proper disposal. “Wanted to keep them out of the landfill. We were noticing people were actually putting them in their garbage carts out for collection and that’s a really heavy item and also it takes up landfill space.” Lomas says it takes them out to Cinnamon Ridge where they compost them and then people can purchase that compost in the spring and park staff use it throughout the city.