Pick up, drop off: lots of ways to be free of an old tree

If it’s time to pitch that pine, cut loose the spruce or fling out your fir, there are plenty of eco-friendly options available to get rid of your Christmas tree in the South Okanagan.

As they have in the past, members of the Penticton Fire Department on their days off will make a house call for your tree in exchange for a donation to charity.

The service is available now through Jan. 17. To arrange a pickup, call 250-490-2315.

The charities supported by the effort are the Penticton Firefighters Charitable Society, Muscular Dystrophy and the B.C. Professional Firefighters Burn Fund.

Trees can also be dropped off by donation at Fire Hall No. 2 on Dawson Avenue. Once there, the trees will be chipped and hauled to the Campbell Mountain Landfill to be turned into compost.

Those dropping off a tree at the hall on Jan. 6 will be treated to a hotdog and hot chocolate courtesy of local firefighters.

Pickups in Summerland will be handled by high school students to help fund dry grad activities. Collections – on either Jan. 7 or Jan. 14 – can be arranged by calling the fire hall at 250-404-4087 or emailing sfd@summerland.ca.

Naramata residents can wave goodbye to their trees on Jan. 13, when volunteer firefighters will be making the rounds. The service is sponsored by EZ Bins. To arrange a pickup, email stn161@rdos.bc.ca.

To get rid of a tree in Osoyoos, drop it off near the washrooms at Kin Park at the northwest corner of the public parking lot below the Sun Bowl Arena.

No such pickup or centralized drop-off services are being offered in Oliver, where residents are asked to take their trees directly to the landfill.

Clean, natural trees are accepted free of charge at all regional landfills, where they’ll be chipped and used for compost or animal bedding.