Treecycle community partnership keeps unsold Christmas trees from landfill
Geneva Park District is again partnering with the Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva’s Green Sanctuary Team to provide Geneva area retailers an alternative to placing unsold Christmas trees in dumpsters and ultimately the landfill.
The project, named “TreeCycle,” has a dual purpose. The main objective is to keep trees out of landfills.
The secondary benefit is the resulting mulch that is placed in parks throughout the town. Geneva Park District and UUSG’s Green Sanctuary team began this collaboration in 2021.
For the third year, local tree retailers will be visited/contacted by volunteers of the Green Sanctuary team, offering to take unsold trees and trimmings.
When sales are complete, the park district will visit the retailer’s site and chip them up.
As for program results in the first year, Gorra shared, “In 2022, we were thrilled to keep 780 trees out of the landfills, which is more than double the number of the previous (first) year. We are hopeful to continue picking up momentum as word of the program spreads,” says Carl Gorra, superintendent of parks and properties at the Geneva Park District.
Local retailers are welcome to contact the church to participate in this endeavor. The hope is not to miss anyone, and to keep this an annual offering.
If your business would like to take advantage of this free service for the community, contact greensanctuary@uusg.org.
About the Geneva Park District
Established in 1953, the Geneva Park District has over 35,000 program participants and offers over 3,500 programs that include preschool, a before & after school program, arts and crafts, trips, special events, athletics, dance, martial arts, cultural arts, gymnastics, tumbling, camps, toddler, youth, and adult programs. Over the span of more than 50 years, it has made great strides in meeting the needs of a growing community. The park district has developed bike/pedestrian trails, playgrounds and parks, athletic fields, outdoor aquatic centers and water spraygrounds, a community center, a recreation center, two fitness centers, a community theater, a skate park, and a mini-golf course and a disc golf course, as well as acquired many acres of open space. For more information, visit www.genevaparks.org or call (630) 232-4542.
About the Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva
Founded in 1842, the Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva is the oldest church in town, part of a centuries-old liberal religious tradition that values reason and free thought over dogma and creed. Led by the Rev. Scot Hull, it is a unique religious voice in the community, offering worship services and religious education programs that draw on diverse spiritual traditions, as well as outreach initiatives that advance social justice causes locally and around the world. Learn more at www.uusg.org.