a (christmas) green tip

City of Houston opens new Christmas tree recycling locations for easy and green disposal

Don't trash that tree when you can recycle it.

Christmas rings in beloved traditions and sometimes, questions, namely: when to take down the tree.

Tradition dictates that revelers can leave their yuletide tree up though January 6, 2023. But for those ready to free themselves from watering and vacuuming needles, the City of Houston's Solid Waste Management Department (SWMD) has opened 24 residential Christmas tree drop-off recycling locations throughout Houston.

Instead of the guilt-inducing (and sad) act of tossing the tree to curbside trash pickup or in a dumpster, residents can drop off pines, firs, and more now through Tuesday, January 31, 2023 at these centers.

These trees will be repurposed for mulch or other landscape materials, according to the SWMD. Houstonians can pick up mulched trees in bags or bulk directly from Living Earth and other local area retailers.

Speaking of mulch, Mayor Sylvester Turner, City Council members, SWMD, along with representatives from Reliant Energy, Living Earth, and the Houston Parks & Recreation Department will host the 32nd Annual Christmas Tree Mulching event at City Hall Reflection Pool, at 11:30 am on January 6, 2023.

Locals can also leave their Christmas tree curbside specifically on the city's yard waste curbside collection program dates.

Importantly, the city cannot recycle any artificial tree (those types can be disposed of on junk waste collection day) or any tree that is flocked or painted.

Here at the tree recycling locations and schedules.

Open Tuesday through Sunday, 9 am-6 pm
(Closed Sunday, January 1, 2023.)

Central Neighborhood Depository, 2240 Central St.
Kirkpatrick Neighborhood Depository, 5565 Kirkpatrick
Sommermeyer Neighborhood Depository 14400 Sommermeyer
N. Main Neighborhood Depository, 9003 North Main St
Southwest Neighborhood Depository, 10785 Southwest Freeway
Sunbeam Neighborhood Depository, 5100 Sunbeam

Open daily, 9 am-6 pm

Memorial Park, 7300 Memorial Dr.
1. Softball Parking Lot – 6402 Arnot St.
2. Sports Complex
T.C. Jester Park 4200 T.C. Jester West
Kingwood (Branch Library) Bens View Lane at Bens Branch Dr.
Doss Park (gates close at 5 p.m.) 2500 Frick Rd. (Country Park)
Ellington Airport Recycling Drop-off Hwy 3 & Brantley Rd.

Open Monday through Saturday, 8 am-5 pm
(Closed Monday, January 2, 2023 and Monday, January 16, 2023.)

Westpark Consumer Recycling Center, 5900 Westpark Dr.

Open Monday through Friday, 7 am-5:30 pm, and Saturday 7 am-noon
(Closed Monday, January 2, 2023.)

Living Earth, 5802 Crawford Rd.
Living Earth, 1503 Industrial Dr. (Missouri City)
Living Earth, 1700 E Highway 90 Alt (Richmond)
Living Earth, 12200 Cutten Rd.
Living Earth, 16138 Highway 6, Iowa Colony, 77583
Living Earth, 5210 S. Sam Houston Parkway E
Living Earth, 27733 Katy Freeway (Katy)
Living Earth, 10310 Beaumont Highway
Living Earth, 17555 I-45 South (Conroe)
Living Earth, 20611 U.S. 59 (New Caney)
Living Earth, 1000 Dickinson Ave. (Dickinson)
Living Earth, 9306 FM 523 (Freeport)

More information on SWMD recycling services can be found online, on Twitter, or by calling 3-1-1.

hail hail

Self-driving Waymo robotaxis hit the streets in Houston

Waymo/ Facebook

Waymo is now offering driverless rides to Houstonians.

Waymo will begin dispatching its robotaxis in Houston and four more cities in Texas and Florida, expanding the territory covered by its fleet of self-driving cars to 10 major U.S. metropolitan markets.

The move into Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Orlando, Florida, announced Tuesday, February 24, widens Waymo's early lead in autonomous driving while rival services from Tesla and the Amazon-owned Zoox are still testing their vehicles in only a few U.S. cities.

In contrast, Waymo's robotaxis already provide more than 400,000 weekly trips in the six metropolitan areas where they have been transporting passengers: Phoenix, the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, and Austin.

Waymo's cars soft launched service in San Antonio in November 2025, initially only offering the rides to employees. The company first began testing Alamo City’s roads the previous May as part of a multi-city “road trip” meant to map out roadways and help alleviate local concern over safety and other issues.

Waymo operates its ride-hailing service through its own app in all the U.S. cities except Atlanta and Austin, where its robotaxis can only be summoned through Uber's ride-hailing service.

The expansion into four more markets marks a significant step toward Waymo's goal to surpass 1 million weekly paid trips by the end of 2026. Without identifying where its robotaxis will be available next, Waymo is targeting a list of eight other cities that include Las Vegas, Washington, Detroit, and Boston while signaling its first overseas availability is likely to be London.

To help pay for more robotaxis, Waymo recently raised $16 billion as part of the financial infusion that puts the value of the company at $126 billion. The valuation fueled speculation that Waymo may eventually be spun off from its corporate parent Alphabet, where it began as a secret project within Google in 2009.

Although Waymo is opening up in four more cities, its robotaxis initially will only be made available to a limited number of people with its ride-hailing app in San Antonio, Dallas, Houston, and Orlando before the service will be available to all corners in those markets.

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This article contains additional reporting from CultureMap San Antonio editor Brandon Watson.

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