PITTSFIELD — Second Chance Composting recently brought its residential community composting program to Pittsfield. Memberships are open and ongoing for the 9 South Atlantic Ave. dropoff location. The program runs continuously all year, through all four seasons.

Memberships start at $9.99 per month, offering unlimited dropoff of household food scraps to the location each month. Members simply save their food scraps at home and, at their convenience, bring them to 9 South Atlantic Ave. and drop their material into the tote. Members can come as little or as often as needed each month. All food and food scraps are accepted, including meat, fish, dairy, bones, and shells. Other membership pricing options are available for those who wish to receive finished compost back.

In addition to the new Pittsfield location, Second Chance Composting currently has dropoff locations in North Adams, Williamstown, and Adams, which have continuous and ongoing membership signups.

Every week, Second Chance Composting picks up the material, which is brought to its MassDEP-certified facility in Cheshire to process the food scraps into compost, which is then distributed back to the community to grow more food, flowers, plants, and trees.

Those interested in learning more or signing up for a membership can do so by visiting www.secondchancecomposting.com.

NORTH ADAMS — Second Chance Composting is offering two free events for community members to bring their pumpkins after Halloween to smash them.

The first event is in Williamstown on Thursday, Nov. 2 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Log by Ramunto’s, 78 Spring St.

The second event is in North Adams on Friday, Nov. 3 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Hotel Downstreet, 40 Main St., as part of the city’s First Fridays.

Community members must bring their own pumpkins, as they will not be provided. Pumpkins must be unpainted, unbleached, and have any non-organic materials removed. Once smashed, pumpkins will be brought to Second Chance Composting’s facility in Cheshire and made into compost.

In America, more than 1 billion pounds of pumpkins are put in landfills each year, creating pollution via methane gas, taking up dwindling landfill space, and destroying the potential for new growth if they were instead composted.

“This is a fun, family-friendly event that we started last year in North Adams and are happy to say we have expanded to include Williamstown this year,” Second Chance Composting owner John Pitroff said. “It’s educational, everyone has a blast, and it’s great for our local ecosystem and the planet at large.”