DARTMOUTH Dartmouth households can keep their jack-o'-lanterns and cornstalks out of the trash this fall by setting them out with curbside yard waste, bringing them to the town's leaf drop-off area on Russells Mills Road, or composting them at home. Curbside pickups fall on five Fridays between Oct. 23 and Dec. 4, with each home's dates set by its trash route.
"Composting pumpkins and cornstalks is a simple step residents can take to reduce landfill waste and return valuable nutrients to the soil," Public Works Director Tim Barber said in a statement Thursday, nine days before Halloween. "Whether you compost at home or use the Town's collection and drop-off options, every effort helps support a more sustainable community."
Curbside pickup dates
The town collects unpainted pumpkins and cornstalks, along with grass, leaves and small twigs, from customers of its SMART (Save Money and Reduce Trash) program on scheduled yard waste days, starting at 7 a.m.
- Wednesday and Thursday trash routes: Friday, Oct. 23; Friday, Nov. 6; and Friday, Dec. 4.
- Monday and Tuesday trash routes: Friday, Oct. 30, and Friday, Nov. 20.
Those are the remaining collection dates for 2026. With Halloween on Saturday, Oct. 31, the first pickup after the holiday is Nov. 6 for homes on Wednesday and Thursday routes and Nov. 20 for homes on Monday and Tuesday routes.
Everything has to go in paper yard waste bags or barrels, and anything left loose at the curb will not be picked up. Twigs can be no thicker than a quarter inch, and the town asks residents not to make bags or barrels too heavy.
Take the decorations off first
Dartmouth's yard waste goes to the Crapo Hill Landfill, where it is composted. To keep that compost clean, the town requires residents to strip pumpkins and cornstalks of candles, lights, stickers, plastic decorations, wire, rope, string and twine before setting them out. Painted pumpkins, and pumpkins with glitter or other coatings that will not compost, belong in regular household trash.
Drop-off on Russells Mills Road
Unpainted pumpkins and cornstalks, with decorations removed, can also go to the leaf drop-off area at the Water Pollution Control Facility, 759 Russells Mills Road. The yard waste area is open 7:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and 7:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Saturday.
A transfer station permit is required, and it is free for SMART customers. Dartmouth residents who are not in the SMART program can buy a $10 day pass or a $50 annual permit at the DPW office at the same address, with proof of residency.
Backyard bins and free compost
Pumpkins and cornstalks can also go into a backyard compost bin with fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee grounds, eggshells, grass, leaves and small twigs. Dartmouth residents can buy an Earth Machine or a New Age Composter for $25 each, year-round, at the Crapo Hill Landfill scale house, 300 Samuel Barnet Blvd. in New Bedford. The scale house sells them 7:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays and 8 to 10:45 a.m. Saturdays, and takes cash, checks or money orders only, no credit or debit cards.
The compost made at the landfill from New Bedford and Dartmouth yard waste is free to residents of both communities. It is self-serve: residents check in at the scale house first and bring their own shovel and container. The district says the compost is not finely screened and may hold little sticks and small pieces of trash. The district does not accept yard waste that residents bring to the landfill themselves.
Keep leaves out of the street
The DPW is also asking residents to keep fall leaves out of the street. Leaves washed into storm drains release nutrients that feed harmful algae blooms, the department says, so it asks residents to rake early and often, keep leaves off streets, sidewalks and driveways, and mulch them into lawns or garden beds only where the ground is grass or soil.
Questions
Questions about curbside yard waste or the drop-off area go to the Dartmouth DPW at 508-999-0740. The refuse district answers composting, recycling and waste reduction questions at 508-979-1493, or by text at 774-503-0254.
Label: Reported by us, from the town's posted records.
Notes
Every fact comes from the Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse Management District's Oct. 22 release on Dartmouth pumpkin and cornstalk composting, the district's yard waste page, and the Dartmouth DPW news flash of Oct. 20 with its leaf flyer. We read all of them on Oct. 23, and no other outlet's reporting is used. We checked each date and weekday against a calendar: Oct. 23, Oct. 30, Nov. 6, Nov. 20 and Dec. 4, 2026, are Fridays, as the release says, Oct. 22 is a Thursday and Oct. 31 is a Saturday. The quote is Public Works Director Tim Barber's, from the Oct. 22 release.
Corrections
No corrections to this story. If something here is wrong, tell us. Every correction is dated on the story and listed in our public log.
Sources (3)
- Don't Trash That Pumpkin: Dartmouth Offers Easy Ways to Compost After HalloweenGreater New Bedford Regional Refuse Management District release, dated Oct. 22, 2026 (page published 10:14 a.m. EDT). Curbside dates by route, 7 a.m. start, bag and twig rules, decorations list, painted pumpkins in trash, Crapo Hill composting, drop-off address and hours, permit and pass prices, compost bins and scale house hours, Barber quote, DPW and district contacts. Read Oct. 23, 2026.
- Yard WasteGreater New Bedford Regional Refuse Management District yard waste page. Free compost for New Bedford and Dartmouth residents, self-serve rules, screening note, no direct resident yard waste. Read Oct. 23, 2026.
- Don't Leaf it Behind!!Town of Dartmouth news flash, DPW, posted Oct. 20, 2026, linking the Think Blue MA leaf litter flyer (https://www.dartmouthma.gov/DocumentCenter/View/7603/Leaf-Litter-Flyer-Think-Blue-MA). Storm drain and raking guidance. Read Oct. 23, 2026.