O Tannenbaum
Recycle that Christmas tree and holiday wrap — here's how
Wait, hang onto that tree and don't toss that gift wrap! As the holiday season winds down and the amount of trash rises, Houston is hoping to divert some of its holiday waste away from local landfills.
For 21 years, the Solid Waste Management Department (SWMD) has encouraged citizens to give a second life to used holiday trees, tens of thousands of which are tossed into area landfills annually.
Starting Tuesday, used Christmas trees can be dropped off at 17 locations. Those with heavy trash pickup can simply haul their tree to the curb, but will have to wait until the designated "tree waste" days in January.
Remember to remove ornaments, tinsel, lights and tree stands. "Flocked," or frosted, trees cannot be accepted for recycling.
The city is also reminding Houstonians to take wrapping paper, burned-out compact fluorescent bulbs, and old appliances to any of its six recycling locations.
For 21 years, the Solid Waste Management Department (SWMD) has encouraged citizens to give a second life to used holiday trees, tens of thousands of which are tossed into area landfills annually.
To recycle and repurpose green waste material during the holidays, SWMD has partnered with Living Earth Technology, a leading composting company that has mulched Christmas trees at no cost to the city since the early 1990s.
"We take Christmas trees for free at all our locations," Living Earth's Richard Stamper told CultureMap. "They're run through an instrument called the 'grinder,' this massive machine that grinds everything from trunks and logs to leaves and grass, and then we sell the mulch."
In addition to the holiday mulch, Living Earth offers compost and soil mixes created with materials from the SWMD's compostable bag pick-up program, which started in 2010.
On Friday at 9:45 a.m., the City of Houston will take down its own holiday tree and grind it into mulch during a special ceremony at the City Hall reflecting pool. Click here for more information on the holiday recycling program.
