It’s Treecycle Time
Now that the presents have all been handed out from under the tree and New Year’s resolutions are looming around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about recycling your Christmas tree. Treecycling can be a simple and great way to start off your new year with an eco-friendly act of kindness.
Between 30 and 35 million real Christmas trees are sold in the U.S. each year. Luckily, about 93 percent of those trees are currently being recycled through more than 4,000 available recycling programs.
A county in Indiana uses a tub grinder to recycle their community’s trees into mulch
Treecycling is a simple way to bring a renewable and natural source back to the environment – and not the landfill – where decomposition rates are slowed due to lack of oxygen.
Real Christmas trees can be recycled in a variety of ways. They are commonly turned into mulch and used in landscaping and gardening or chipped and used for playground material, hiking trails, paths and walkways. They are also used for beachfront erosion prevention, lake and river shoreline stabilization and fish and wildlife habitat.
The National Christmas Tree Association highlights projects that are thriving examples of Christmas tree recycling and reuse. From wildlife habitat creation to sand dune restoration, Christmas trees are being recycled into great use in communities nationwide.
Preparing Your Tree for Recycling
Okay, so recycling your Christmas tree might not be as easy as putting it in that blue bin with your aluminum cans and plastic bottles, but it is easier than you might think.
Many communities now offer seasonal treecycling programs. Use Earth911′s searchable database of over 4,000 treecycling locations to determine if your community offers a curbside program or is hosting a treecycling event in your area. Before recycling your tree, make sure to:
- Remove all stands, lights, tinsel and ornaments (including that great treecycle ornament, which can be put away for next year).
- Check the collection and drop-off dates for treecycling in your area – you don’t want to miss the deadline, and dates and times can change on occasion.
- Do not place your Christmas tree inside a plastic bag. It should be left in its natural state for recycling.
There are often community groups, such as the Boy Scouts of America, who will come pick up your tree for a small donation and take it to the recycling facility for you.
Friendly Reminders
- If any of those Christmas tree ornaments or decorations aren’t going to make it onto the tree next year, please remember to recycle or donate them.
- Upgrading to LED lights next year? Remember to recycle your incandescent lights at holidayLEDS.com or donate them to a worthy cause.
- Avoid burning your Christmas tree as it creates unnecessary air pollution and can represent a fire hazard.
- Artificial trees cannot be recycled. They are made from mainly non-renewable plastics, often containing PVC, a petroleum-derived plastic. If you do have an artificial tree that you no longer use, consider donating it to a worthy cause or prolonging its life through good care and storage.
- “Living” Christmas trees should not be recycled with traditional Christmas trees. Arrangements should be made to replant them in a timely fashion in order to keep them alive. Many places, such as your local parks department, school or community organization, will accept the living trees for replanting.
- National Christmas Tree Association http://www.christmastree.org/home.cfm.
As of June 17th 2011 we have upgraded our comment system to use Facebook comments. The below comments are closed and are listed for historical purposes.
Issues and Concerns for Winter « K.N.C. ~ Helping People Help Animals
posted on December 29th, 2008 at 8:24 am
[...] Treecycle that Christmas Tree For each real Christmas tree harvested, up to three new seedlings are planted in its place, depending on farm size and current field rotation. Young trees in their rapid growth years have a high rate of photosynthesis and thus produce more oxygen than older trees. [...]
Dave
posted on December 29th, 2008 at 9:40 am
Has anyone done a study as to which is better for the environment: a real tree that is replaced every year or an artificial that is replaced about once every ten years? Consider that the real tree takes fuel to plant, harvest, possibly truck to a site, gas to take it home, fgas to get it to the recycle location, gas to run the chipper, etc every year.
Lori Brown
posted on December 29th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Hi Dave,
Great question! We actually just posted a story on this subject titled “An Expert Answers: Real Christmas Tree or Fake?” Check it out:
http://earth911.com/blog/2008/12/05/an-expert-answers-real-christmas-tree-or-fake/
Happy New Year!
Lori Brown
michelle
posted on January 1st, 2009 at 9:58 am
I am trying to find a recycling center in my area for my Christmas tree……. everything on the web site indicates local town recycling centers but it states you have to be a resident of that particular town???????? Nothing that I can find for Manchester. WHAT do I do? HELP
Have an Epiphany About Christmas Tree Recycling « Suddenly Frugal Blog
posted on January 4th, 2009 at 12:10 am
[...] seasonal Christmas tree recycling. In fact, here’s a timely article on the notion of Treecycling, the act of recycling a Christmas [...]
Goodwill’s Thrifting and Green Living Blog » Blog Archive » Re-purposing Holiday Clutter
posted on January 6th, 2009 at 9:37 am
[...] am I talking about? Well, I recently read an article on Earth911 about a practice called treecycling. Basically, you bring your tree to a local transfer station or recycler and the tree is turned into [...]
Lynnette Hibbs
posted on January 8th, 2009 at 9:09 pm
I am trying to find a christmas tree recyling site in Wilson County Tn (Mt Juliet) 37122 so far the only ones listed are for only those county residents outside of Wilson
jomoes
posted on January 9th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
I’m looking for a place to recycle my christmas trees. Where can I recycle trees in Roswell/Alpharetta area?
Project for Public Spaces » Blog Archive » Places in the News: January 12, 2009
posted on January 12th, 2009 at 9:28 am
[...] If you’ve been lazy about getting rid of your Christmas tree, just remember, it’s still not trash so don’t just put it on the sidewalk! [Earth911.com] [...]
Lori Brown
posted on January 12th, 2009 at 11:00 am
Hi jomoes,
It looks like the City of Alpharetta Curbside Program offers Christmas Tree recycling. There are also a few Treecycling events in the Alpharetta/Roswell. For the findings and details, please visit: http://search.earth911.com/?what=Christmas+Tree&where=Alpharetta&latitude=34.068833&longitude=-84.271972&country=US&province=GA&city=Alpharetta
Thank you,
Lori Brown
How to green your holidays | Daily Loaf
posted on November 6th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
[...] recycle your Christmas tree? (And I’m not talking about using it again the following year.) Earth 911 gives the 411 on how to “Treecycle” your tree. Believe it or not, those fir, pine, and [...]
The Green Choice: Real or Artificial Christmas Tree? « mom going green
posted on December 5th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
[...] trees can be treecycled into mulch for your garden, learn more about treecycling here. Find a location near you here. In Columbus, Ohio bring your tree to SWACO for drop [...]
6 Tips for a Green Holiday that Saves Green « Suddenly Frugal Blog
posted on December 8th, 2009 at 7:37 am
[...] your local municipality to find out when they will pick it up for recycling. (You can also log onto Earth 911 to find out this tree-recycling information, sometimes called treecycling.) More than 30 million real Christmas trees are sold in the United States each year, but more than [...]
Green Thinking at SUNY New Paltz » Blog Archive » Christmas Tree Recycling
posted on January 4th, 2010 at 10:59 pm
[...] toEarth911.com, “Between 30 and 35 million real Christmas trees are sold in the U.S. each year. Luckily, [...]