City of Alexandria Will Start Recycling Christmas Trees on Monday

In Alexandria, Christmas trees can be recycled curbside by residents who receive refuse collection services from the City.

Be sure to drain the water out of the tree (WTOP recommends using a turkey baster) before you try to take the tree outside.

Trees should be set at your regular yard waste collection point, on your trash collection day, starting Monday (Jan. 5) through Friday, Jan. 16. Trees collected during this time will be ground into mulch and available to residents in the spring.

To prepare trees for collection, residents are reminded to:

• Remove all ornaments, tinsel, lights and stands.
• Do not place in plastic bags.
• Place the tree at your regular yard waste collection point by 6 a.m. on your refuse collection day.

Other recycling options, from the National Christmas Tree Association:

Soil erosion barriers: Some communities use Christmas trees to make effective sand and soil erosion barriers, especially for lake and river shoreline stabilization and river delta sedimentation management. Read about how Christmas trees are helping the sand dunes in New Jersey recover from Hurricane Sandy.

Fish feeders: Sunk into private fish ponds, trees make an excellent refuge and feeding area for fish.

Bird feeders: Place the Christmas tree in the garden or backyard and use it as a bird feeder and sanctuary. Fresh orange slices or strung popcorn will attract the birds and they can sit in the branches for shelter. (Make sure all decorations, hooks, garland and tinsel strands are removed). Eventually (within a year) the branches will become brittle and you can break the tree apart by hand or chip it in a chipper. See this article from Perdue University for more information.

Mulch: A Christmas tree is biodegradable; its branches may be removed, chipped, and used as mulch in the garden. If you have a neighbor with a chipper, see if he will chip it for you.

Paths for hiking trails: Some counties use the shredded trees as a free, renewable and natural path material that fits both the environment and the needs of hikers!

Living, rooted trees: Of course, next year, you could get a rooted (ball and burlap or containerized) tree and then plant it in your yard after Christmas. (It’s a good idea to pre-dig the hole in the late fall while the soil is still soft, then plant the tree into that hole immediately after Christmas.) Living trees have a better survival rate in mild climates.

Important: Never burn your Christmas tree in a fireplace or wood stove.