Rapid City Guides Post-Halloween Disposal

The city issued instructions on handling pumpkins, costumes, candy wrappers, and holiday lights after Halloween.

Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Home Cleaning

Rapid City Guides Post-Halloween Disposal

Live Poll

Do you plan to drop off old holiday lights for recycling this winter?

The City of Rapid City has offered guidance on disposing of post-Halloween items, including pumpkins, costumes, and synthetic decorations. The city also launched its holiday light recycling drive, which runs through the end of January.

Why it matters

Tangled lights placed in regular trash can become "tanglers" that catch in landfill equipment, while improper disposal of candy wrappers and fake webs can contaminate recycling loads. Following the guidance helps reduce landfill waste and avoid costly equipment breakdowns at solid waste facilities.

Rapid City collected four tons of non-working lights and cords last year, a record, and more than 17 tons since 2021, through roughly a dozen collection boxes across the city. The current drive runs through the end of January, and the stub does not report interim totals for this season.

The players

City of Rapid City

The municipal government of Rapid City, South Dakota, which operates the solid waste drop-off sites and runs the annual holiday light recycling program.

Rapid City Landfill

The municipal landfill serving Rapid City, which receives pumpkin drop-offs and is affected by tangled lights and other materials that damage its equipment.

The details

Pumpkins can be dropped uncarved or carved at remote yard waste sites at Fitzgerald Stadium, the Nickel Street collection site, or the Rapid City Landfill, but candles, wax, artificial lights, and decorative stakes must first be removed. Worn costumes go in household garbage, while usable costumes and masks can be kept or donated to thrift stores, and candy wrappers, glow sticks, and synthetic spider webs belong in regular trash rather than blue curbside recycling bins.

Sunday (November 1, 2026): Holiday light recycling drive kicked off in Rapid City.
Through January 31, 2027: Drop-off bins for non-working lights and cords remain available at listed locations.
After Election Day (November 3, 2026): Property owners should promptly remove political yard signs.

Seasonal Patterns

The city's annual holiday light recycling program, which has collected more than 17 tons of non-working lights since 2021, now extends into a broader seasonal push that also covers pumpkins and costumes. The same post-holiday disposal cycle repeats each year, with last year's four-ton record setting the benchmark for this season's drive.

Remove candles, wax, lights, and stakes from pumpkins before placing them in yard waste bins, and keep candy wrappers and fake webs out of blue recycling bins. Drop off non-working Halloween and Christmas lights and dead extension cords at any of the roughly dozen collection boxes across the city before the program ends in January.

The takeaway

Small sorting decisions after Halloween, such as keeping tangled lights and synthetic webs out of the wrong bin, keep landfill equipment running and reduce waste. Checking the city's drop-off locations before discarding seasonal decorations makes the process simpler.