After holidays, recycling is better than trashing trees
Their time to sparkle in lights and tinsel is coming to an end, but holiday trees still have a future.
“Recycle your Christmas tree, so it doesn’t go to waste,” said Sharon Yiesla, plant knowledge specialist at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle.
A tree that is collected for recycling will be ground up for compost or mulch to improve soil conditions for other trees and plants. Most former Christmas trees go to one of the commercial composting facilities that process yard waste and sell the resulting products to landscapers and gardeners.
“You also can make use of your tree to help the plants and wildlife in your own yard,” Yiesla said.
Here are some tips from the Plant Clinic for making the most of your tree.
In Chicago, take the tree to be mulched. The city of Chicago does not collect Christmas trees. However, on weekends in early January, trees can be brought to a number of city parks to be ground up into mulch. If you bring in a tree, you can take home a bag of the fragrant mulch for your garden.
Dates and locations will be posted sometime after Christmas on the Department of Streets and Sanitation webpage at city of chicago.org/dss.
Check collection dates. If your area does have tree collection, make sure you are aware of the scheduled dates. Not all communities pick up trees at the same time. Trees that are put out too late for recycling collection may end up in a landfill. Usually, collection dates can be found on your local government’s website.
Put it in the right place. Don’t put the tree in the alley if pickup will be at the curb, or vice versa. Tree collection may be done by a firm different from the one that handles regular waste pickup, and the procedures may not be the same.
Remove all decorations and plastic. Strip the tree of lights, ornaments, tinsel, wire and everything else. Trees that are not clean will not be collected. Ornaments are not biodegradable. Metal wire can damage the machinery used to grind up the trees. A plastic tree bag will cause problems, so remove it once the tree is outdoors.
Just trees, please. Evergreen garlands and wreaths, which contain damaging wire, will not be picked up.
Make your tree a wildlife shelter. “Instead of putting the tree out for pickup, you can prop it up in your yard as a winter refuge for birds and other wildlife,” Yiesla said. In spring, you’ll need to cut up the tree, tie the trunk and branches in bundles and put them out for landscape waste pickup.
Use branches to protect plants. “Use your pruners to cut off branches and lay them over your perennial beds,” Yiesla said. The branches and evergreen needles will shade and insulate the soil, keeping it cold during brief winter warm spells.
That will keep the plants dormant until the weather is reliably warm and it’s safe for them to sprout. In early spring, lift the evergreen branches to allow the soil to warm up. Bundle the branches for landscape waste pickup.
For tree and plant advice, contact the Arboretum’s Plant Clinic (630-719-2424 or plantclinic@mortonarb.org).