Halloween might be over, but you don't need to just chuck your gourd into the garbage. Your pumpkins still have a lot to offer, even if they're starting to smell. Here are five things to do with your spooky season squash that are surprisingly sustainable.

Of the almost 2 billion pounds of pumpkins grown in the US every year, an estimated 1.3 billion are sent to landfills, according to KPCW radio.

More than half of pumpkins landing in the dump is scarier than spooky season itself. When pumpkins rot in landfills, they release tons of the greenhouse gas methane, which is one of the main contributors to climate change and global warming.

Before you throw your gourd out with the garbage, here are five more sustainable things you can do instead that will fill your stomach, provide some fun, or help our animal friends too!

If you opted out of pumpkin carving this Halloween, you can still make a snack from an underrated part of the pumpkin: the seeds.

This keeps more of the plant out of the landfill, helps reduce waste, and is yummy to boot.

TikTok user plantyou explains a great recipe in her viral vid that has over 14 million views and counting. It's as simple as cutting open your gourd, pulling out the guts, and roasting 'em in the oven.

And never fear: if you did carve your pumpkin, you can still cook it if it's firm and fresh.

All you need to do is clean off any wax, paint, or glitter decoration, and you've got the basic ingredients for a whole boatload of yummy foods, from pumpkin soup, to bread, to classic pumpkin pie.

There are thousands of pumpkin recipes out there, and all you need to do is boil, roast, or steam your squash to make it go down smooth.

Humans aren't he only beasts that love the big orange gourds, animals are also fans.

Throughout spooky season, zookeepers have been giving animals squashes to smash and play with, to the delight of millions.

Our furry friends don't care that Halloween is over, so hitting up your local zoo to see if they need pumpkins to play with is a great way to give your gourd new life.

Smaller farms and animal shelters also often accept pumpkin donations. The group Pumpkins for Pigs has an interactive map that shows you where you can donate your un-carved, undecorated pumpkins to a farm or animal shelter near you.

Plus, some organizations aren't picky and will accept Jack-o-lanterns with or without decoration, and can even resuse the straw or hay bales used to make porches look festive.

You could make an animal's day with your donation, and gift them a new happy home or play area too.

The monster mash itself might be over, but that doesn't mean you can't still have a smashing time.

Many city parks and sanitation departments around the US have put together events to keep pumpkins out of landfills and to have some fun in the way of pumpkin smashes.

And it's exactly what it sounds like: you smash pumpkins, and perhaps get out some post-holiday frustration too. These local events promise to be a "smashing good time" for the whole family.

All you need to do is bring your disintegrating gourd to one of the smashing events and bash it to bits. The pulverized pumpkin pieces are then "turned into compost for City parks and green spaces" by event organizers like the New York Botanical Garden, for example, according to the New York City Sanitation Department's website.

The New York City Sanitation Department's shared a complete list of this year's smashing events in the NYC area, and similar ones can be found online county-wide.

You don't have to go to a special smash event to compost your Halloween pumpkin. You can do it at home if you've got a garden, or find a city composting drop-off center where your Jack-o-lantern can decompose in peace.

Instead of adding your used pumpkin to the trash with the discarded candy wrappers, adding it to the compost pile will let it fall apart gradually, one moldy bit at a time.

The nutrient-rich compost will eventually be added to soil to hopefully grow more plants in the figure - maybe even resulting in another healthy pumpkin down the line! Then, the whole cycle can start again.

Instead of throwing out your Halloween pumpkin, you could re-purpose it into a bird feeder.

This DIY project is even simpler than carving a birdhouse or feeder out of wood, which can take more time than you're willing to give or have.

All you need to do is to dig a hole and a "landing ledge" out from one side o f your former seasonal decor, fill with birdseed, and set it outside.

The super snack holder and recycling method isn't just ecological, it can be entertaining, too,

Once you've added birdseed, all you have to do is sit back and watch as your gourd brings all the birds to the yard.

Helping your pumpkin avoid the landfill by daring to cook it, donate it, smash it to bits, compost it, or feed it to the birds will have you feeling pumped up long after Halloween has gone.