Green Scene: Recycling Trees

If you celebrate Christmas, you likely have a tree standing small or tall in your apartment or house. The question is, what the heck do you do with your lovely tree after the holiday season has come and gone? Fear not, Philadelphia earth-minded citizen! We have the solution for you. But first, here are some facts about Christmas trees.

Christmas trees have been sold here in the United States since the late 1800’s and the first decorated tree goes all the way back to Latvia in the 1500s.

While in the past, most live trees came from forests, nearly all commercial Christmas trees come from farms, and our home state of Pennsylvania is one of the top producers of Christmas trees in the country.

Now, here’s the bad news. Each year, millions of Christmas trees end up in landfills across the country where they take up space and provide no nutritional benefit to the ground upon which they sit.

But, we can change that! There are many ways to recycle your Christmas tree. Recycling your tree allows it decompose naturally and add to the health of the environment. In fact, there are thousands of Christmas tree recycling programs across the country, including here in Philadelphia.

Some folks choose to recycle their Christmas trees by shredding them and using them as mulch or using them as barriers to stop soil erosion. Others toss their trees into local ponds and lakes to provide a safe haven for the fish population. While this might be a good idea for our suburban and country neighbors, this won’t work for us city dwellers. (Do not, under any circumstances, think it would be a good idea to dump your tree into the Schuylkill or Delaware rivers. This act will likely get you arrested.)

But what you can do in our fair city is load your tree onto the roof of a car and take it to the nearest tree recycling drop off in the city. The city’s program runs from Monday, Jan. 5 to Saturday, Jan. 17 from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM at the Streets Department Sanitation Convenience Centers located at 3033 South 63rd Street, Domino Lane & Umbria Street, and State Road & Ashburner Street.

Check your tree to make sure you got all the ornaments and tinsel off, otherwise the trees can’t be recycled. If you have any questions about this recycling program, you can call the city at (215) 686-5560.

You can put your tree out on the curb, and the streets department will pick it up with the rest of your trash, but your tree will be headed for a landfill for sure. And that’s no way to start off the new year now, is it?

Image Credit: Flickr user mmhaffie.