CHRISTMAS TREE RECYCLING: A HOUSTON TRADITION FOR 15 YEARS
December 13, 2006 - The City of Houston Solid Waste Management Department (SWMD) will embark on its 15th year of Christmas tree recycling on December 27, 2006 by providing recycling drop-off sites throughout Houston. This program will last until January 8, 2007. All drop-off sites will be closed on New Year's Day.
Every year, many Houstonians discard thousands of used Christmas trees that could be recycled into useable items. Since the Christmas tree recycling program began, more than 500,000 Christmas trees have been recycled. The City of Houston is encouraging residents to recycle their Christmas trees, give them a new lease on life and make recycling of Christmas trees a family tradition.
The SWMD is requesting that residents remove tinsel, lights, ornaments, plastic tree stands and plastic water bowls from the trees. The recycled trees will be converted into mulch, which will in turn help save landfill space and help preserve the environment.
Flocked trees will not be accepted for recycling; they will be picked up on the neighborhood's scheduled heavy trash day. Commercial vendor trees will not be accepted.
Living Earth Technology, a leading composting company in Houston, has partnered with the City of Houston to make this a very cost-effective program for the City. Living Earth Technology composts all the Christmas trees at no cost to the City. Homes with City of Houston Automated Garbage Collection Service may place their trees at the curb with their separate yard trimmings to have it recycled.
Please bring residential Christmas trees to one of the following drop-off locations:
The Solid Waste Management Department provides solid waste services to the citizens of Houston through the collection, disposal and recycling of discarded material in a manner that is safe, efficient, environmentally-sound and cost-effective.
