With all the wet, cool and soggy weather we've had this fall, no doubt your pumpkins are starting to look a little... scary? If that's the case, then it might be time to swap out decorations and retire your gourds for good.

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But before you toss them all in the trash, be sure and read this: Plain or carved pumpkins are often considered yard waste or compost and shouldn't be thrown in with the rest of your garbage. 

However, if your pumpkin is painted or decorated with jewels, glitter, etc. – it actually is trash, and can't be composted so it can just go in the garbage.

So what do you do? Well, you can start by looking for a nearby compost site like we have here in Rochester!

There's no charge to drop off acceptable yard waste. You can see their list of items that can and can not be accepted at the Compost Site HERE.

Of course, you can always let them break down naturally and within a couple of weeks they'll be gone. You can put them out in the woods/wetland next to your yard for all the critters to eat. Plus they also give your garden some much-needed nutrients.

There's also ways to ways to eat your pumpkins too if you choose not to throw them away. I easily found tons of recipes like these that utilize almost every part of the gourd. I've heard by several people that if done right, there seeds are delicious!

Whatever you do, just don't let them hang around long enough to start rotting away on your front step, or worse, get smashed!

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