Honestly, I have nothing against pumpkins. I love them. But there's a reason we are smashing them. They will be used to make compost, or soil, for Hudson River Park's flower beds, lawns and gardens. 

"The compost is able to insulate all of our plants over the winter, helps them to actually hold more water, and it also just makes them more nutrient rich and beautiful, said Tina Walsh, director of education and outreach for Hudson River Park.

The four-mile riverfront park, which stretches from Chambers to 59th streets, is holding a "Smash, Don't Trash" event Saturday from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. The public is invited to bring their Halloween pumpkins and jack-O'-lanterns and smash them up in a variety of fashions. The pumpkin pieces will join grass clippings, pruned tree branches and food scraps in the composting process. 

"You can drop your waste, and then we mix it with all of our horticulture waste, and we have 400 thousand pounds of that a year," said Madelyn Wills, president and CEO of the Hudson River Park Trust. 

It all gets mixed up, and with the help of a composting machine, it becomes great soil. 

Throwing pumpkins in is a no brainer. And the bonus to joining the smash-up? 

"People that bring a pumpkin will also get a bag of our compost to go home with them," says Dave Loewenguth.

And likely have a blast, like the Mornings On 1 crew had on the roof of Chelsea Market doing their own smashing. I tried something different: running one over with a golf cart driven by Hudson River Park horticulturist Peter Walsh. 

If you can't make it to Saturday's event, Hudson River Park has seven different locations along the waterfront where you can drop off your pumpkins and your food scraps. To find out where the locations are and what's accepted, just head over to hudsonriverpark.org.