Christmas tree recycling sprouts across the nation
By: Amanda Smith-Teutsch
December 21, 2009

Even the most meticulously watered live-cut Christmas tree must be disposed of eventually. When the ornaments are packed away and the holidays are long past, the Tannebaum begins to lose its evergreen qualities.

In cities great and small, recycling programs have sprung up around the holidays. Industry experts say household waste increases by 25% or more during the holiday season, and many municipal waste managers are constantly looking for ways to reduce the impact on the city’s bottom line at the end of the year. The easiest targets are the live-cut Christmas trees, their purposes served for the year.

“This program provides the city with an opportunity to remind residents that Christmas trees can be composted, and other items typically generated in greater quantities during the holidays such as wrapping paper, gift boxes and cardboard can be reused or recycled,” said June Cantor, a spokeswoman for the city of Philadelphia’s Streets Department. “Removing these items from the waste stream saves resources and saves the city disposal costs.”

The city of Philadelphia expects to collect between 25 and 30 tons of Christmas trees during its program. The trees are shredded, chipped and composted instead of being sent to landfills. Cantor said the processing cost for the city is 33 cents per ton, versus $64 per ton for disposal.

Jim Petuch, executive director of the Mahoning County Green Team, said the Ohio county has collected discarded Christmas trees each January for about 10 years.

“If people are going to have live Christmas trees and they’re not going to plant them in the backyard because they have no roots, this is the best way to get rid of them,” he said.

The trees are collected and given to the Ohio state Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Wildlife, which uses the trees and concrete block from construction projects to form fish habitats in area lakes.

“We collected 833 trees last year, and the Department of Wildlife took them all, along with 500 pieces of cement,” Petuch said.

At the same time, the county’s waste hauler, Allied Services, adds gift wrap and greeting card recycling to the curbside and drop-off recycling services in the county.

There is also a “Re-Create” materials exchange program run by a local university that repurposes cardstock and other waste commonly generated during the holidays for classroom art supplies, Petuch said. During the rest of the year the materials exchange collects items such as foam egg cartons and food packaging trays for reuse in the classroom.

“We can’t get enough greeting cards,” Petuch said. “Students cut them up and make posters, gift boxes, anything you can imagine.”

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