As the holiday season draws to a close, you may be searching for options for how to get rid of your real Christmas tree. Luckily, there are some eco-friendly options that can reduce landfill waste, and even contribute to habitat improvement!

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, approximately 33 million real Christmas trees are sold in North America each year. Luckily, about 93 percent of those trees are recycled through more than 4,000 available recycling programs nationwide.

If you are unsure of where your nearest facility is, the Earth911.com website offers a search feature to help you find a local recycling center or organization where trees can be recycled.

A good rule of thumb is once you flip the calendar to January, start packing up the lights and ornaments and get your tree ready to recycle. Most tree recycling programs will end mid-January and you don’t want to miss the window of opportunity. 

Before recycling, trees should stripped down to their original form, which means removing all the lights, ornaments and tinsel.

When choosing where to recycle your tree, be sure that it is not just going to be taken away and deposited into a landfill – thus negating the importance of recycling in the first place! In cities such as New York and Denver,

Christmas trees are mulched, and the remaining material is made available to the public free of charge. Your community may also offer to redistribute the mulch to residents, saving you money on garden supplies in the spring.

If no tree recycling facilities exist in your area, you do have some other options that you can do on your own:

— Chop it into firewood and kindling—A standard Noble Fir tree can be turned into more than 13 pounds of firewood to keep you warm this winter. The needles can be used for art projects or as mulch in your backyard.

— Improve water quality—If you have a pond or other body of water in the backyard, tossing in your Christmas tree actually helps the fish by providing shelter and nutrients. Many communities have drop-off locations near bodies of water for this purpose. If you do not officially own the body of water (such as beach-front properties), you must get permission before disposing of your tree in this way.

Information from an article by Trey Granger on Earth 911.com

(Written By: Susan Boser, Water Resources Educator, Renewable Natural Resources Team, Penn State Extension, Beaver County,, and reprinted from Penn State Extension’s Watershed Winds newsletter.)

12/30/2013