O, Christmas Tree, O, Christmas Tree: Recycle Yours, Please

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA – Instead of tossing that Christmas tree in the dumpster after the holiday, drop it off at a Riverside County landfill for recycling to benefit the environment, officials said Monday.

According to the county Department of Waste Resources, residents can ensure trees are turned into "nutrient rich" mulch by participating in the agency's curbside pickup program, or taking discarded firs directly to the Badlands and Lamb Canyon landfills east of Moreno Valley.

"Make the last gift you give this year to the Earth -- recycle Christmas trees," according to an agency statement.

The recycling program involves turning tannenbaums into chips and combining them with food waste from the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning to create compost that enhances the soil onto which it's poured.

Trees must be stripped of decorations, including lights and tinsel, before they can be recycled. Flocked trees are not accepted and are supposed to be chopped up and put into trash receptacles, county officials said.

Most trash haulers serving the county retrieve firs for recycling for two weeks after Christmas.

Those residents who don't have curbside trash pickup, or who miss the deadline, can drop their discarded trees -- without charge -- at any one of the following locations until Jan. 7:

-- A. Lua Wood Recycling, 18938 Mermack Ave., Lake Elsinore;
-- B.P. John Recycling, 28700 Matthews Road, Menifee;
-- Burrtec Recycle Center, 41-800 Corporate Way, Palm Desert;
-- Burrtec/Robert A. Nelson Transfer Station, 1830 Agua Mansa Road, Riverside;
-- Badlands Landfill, 31125 Ironwood Ave., Moreno Valley; and
-- Lamb Canyon Landfill, 16411 Lamb Canyon Road, Beaumont.

More information is available at www.rcwaste.org/wasteguide/holiday.

ALSO SEE:

• 12 Gourmet, Easy-To-Order Gifts Made In California

• Skate Through The Season: Holiday Ice Rinks In Riverside Co. 2017

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--City News Service/Pixabay image via 4175959