A smashing success.
That's the way someone might describe a pair of fun post-Halloween events in Lexington and Newton later this week.
Newton is holding its fourth annual "pumpkin smash" from 1-4 p.m. Saturday outside City Hall, while Lexington hosts its second a day earlier, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at Lincoln Park.
According to Lexington sustainability officer Maggie Peard, pumpkin smashes help get rid of Halloween pumpkins in safe, sustainable way while helping reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions.
Besides, they're a blast.
"The pumpkin-smash events also help bring beneficial nutrients to the soil," Peard told Wicked Local.
Peard said children — and whoever else would like to partake — will smash their used Halloween pumpkins during the event, with Black Earth Compost providing a truck in which people can throw away the debris.
"We want these pumpkins composted so that we can keep them away from landfills," Peard said, noting the state is slated to close landfills by the end of the decade. "In Massachusetts, and in other states, we create too much waste. And by bringing waste to landfills, we are increasing greenhouse gas emissions and contributing to climate change in a negative way. The real goal of this event is to increase the rate at which pumpkins are composted."
Peard said pumpkin smashes are a "win-win" for communities, which is why more of them seem to be taking on these types of events.
Take Newton. Waneta Trabert, the city's Sustainable Materials Management Division director, said Newton was the first Massachusetts municipality to host a pumpkin-smash event.
"We held our first one in 2019, and then the pandemic happened, so it stopped for a bit," Trabert told Wicked Local. She said in 2019, she had heard of a town in Illinois that was hosting a pumpkin smash. She called officials in that town and soon brought the idea to Newton.
"It definitely seems like more towns have caught on," Trabert said. "It's a real feel-good event. For some reason, people would rather smash pumpkins than just toss them away."
Saturday's event in Newton will feature pumpkin smashing, along with information being distributed about managing food waste and composting. A food truck will visit, along with a touch-a-truck experience. The city is also encouraging attendees to donate leftover candy and unwanted costumes.
Trabert said there are many ways to smash pumpkins, including just throwing them on the ground. But there will also be a pumpkin-catapult on site, along with a board with wooden points that are ideal for shredding pumpkins.
She said students from the Newton robotics team have built a pumpkin-smashing robot that will be brought to the event.
"Waste capacity is a real issue in Massachusetts," Peard said. "One-third of our trash is food waste. So this event is a great way to have some fun, but also to educate the public on the importance of composting. There's really no downside."
Other pumpkin smashes:
Beverly: From noon to 3 p.m. Sunday at 733 Cabot St.
Boston: The Delta Sigma Pi fraternity at UMass Boston hosts a pumpkin smash from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. today at the amphitheater in front of the school's Integrated Sciences Complex.
Bedford: From 2-4 p.m. Saturday at the John Glenn Middle School parking lot, 99 McMahon Road.
Boston: The Mothers Out Front pumpkin smash takes place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at the English High School outdoor track, 144 McBride St., Jamaica Plain.
Natick: From 1-3 p.m. Sunday at the Memorial school, 107 Eliot St.