🎃 Compost & Costumes: Where Healthy Soil Meets Halloween Fun!

Get ready for a spooktacular morning of compost, costumes and family fun! 👻

The City of San Diego’s Environmental Services Department, in partnership with I Love A Clean San Diego and the County of San Diego, invites families to celebrate Halloween with free compost, interactive activities and hands-on learning about organic waste recycling.

📅 Date: Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026
⏰ Time: 8 a.m.–noon
📍 Location: Los Peñasquitos Ranch House, 12122 Canyonside Park Drive

🎃 Family-Friendly Activities

Come dressed in your favorite Halloween costume and enjoy:

• 🪦 Compost Graveyard Dig – Dig for spooky contaminants that don’t belong in the green bin.
• 🟢 Green Bin Gobble – Test your sorting skills and learn what belongs in the green, blue and trash bins.
• 🌱 Spooky Egg Sprouts – Decorate an egg carton planter and plant a seedling to take home and grow.
• 👻 Jack-o’-Lantern Compost Bags – Decorate a festive paper bag and take home some compost.
• 📸 Costume Photo Opportunities – Meet the City’s lovable mascots, Can Man and Bonita Blue Bin, for fun family photos!

🌿 Free Compost & Mulch Giveaway

Give your garden a treat! City of San Diego residents can take home free compost from the Miramar Greenery to help nourish their soil and plants.

Don’t forget to bring your own shovels and buckets to load your materials!

The event is free and open to City of San Diego residents. Costumes are encouraged!

🎃 Come for the costumes. Stay for the compost. Leave knowing your green bin a little better!

Register here: https://www.sandiego.gov/compostandcostumes

What to bring: 

• Shovel 

• Gloves 

• Containers 

• Tarp and bungees for truck beds (ALL TRUCK BEDS MUST BE COVERED!) 
• All participants will need to sign a waiver upon entering the event. 

The County of San Diego’s Rancho Los Penasquitos – In 1823, Francisco Maria Ruiz built a modest adobe that established Rancho Los Penasquitos as San Diego County’s first Mexican land grant, remnants of which still stand within the present-day ranch house. Today, the surrounding park offers more than 10 miles of multi-use trails, a staging area, restrooms, and hosts weddings, reunions, and community events. The site also features the Los Peñasquitos Community Garden, founded in 2012, which provides 20 plots for local residents to grow their own produce through seasonal leases. The historic adobe serves as a cultural landmark and museum, offering visitors guided tours, educational programs, and a glimpse into the region’s early ranching and adobe life. For more information, visit https://www.sdparks.org/content/sdparks/en/park-pages/RanchoLosPenasquitos.html 

Note – This event will occur rain or shine. If severe weather occurs, you’ll receive an email that the event will be rescheduled or canceled. 

This event is made possible by the City of San Diego Environmental Services Department and facilitated by I Love A Clean San Diego.