Where do live Christmas trees go after the holidays? Here's what experts suggest you do
After the presents are opened, the celebrations are complete and the pine needles have littered the floor, it soon will be time to get rid of that Christmas tree.
Environmental experts say it's important to prepare your tree for the process.
Once picked up curbside, live Christmas trees will typically either be mulched or composted at facilities in our region.
Taking off any and all decorations is the central task.
That includes lights, tinsel, garlands, ornaments and stray ornament hooks. If you take the tree out using a plastic bag to prevent more needles from dropping in the house, be sure to separate the bag from the tree so it doesn't end up in the mulch or compost.
"We've encouraged people to do the right thing with their tree so they can be mulched well," said Kay McKeen, SCARCE founder and executive director.
SCARCE is an environmental education nonprofit based in DuPage County.
Aside from putting your tree curbside for pickup, McKeen said, there are other creative ways to dispose of your tree, such as leaving it outside to help provide shelter for wildlife. Come springtime, the tree can be chopped up and put out with yard waste.
"It certainly is a great way to help the environment, and to be sure that the trees will be mulched," McKeen said. "A lot of people will lean them up against another tree, and then that's a great windbreak for birds and insects. Some people put unsalted peanut butter on pine cones and put them in the trees. It's a great way to benefit the critters."
In Lake County, trees can also go to local forest preserves. Donated trees will be chipped and used for trails and landscaping.
Trees will be accepted at eight drop-off sites between Dec. 26 and Feb. 1, from 6:30 a.m. to sunset. Drop-off site information can be found at lcfpd.org/holiday-tree-recycling.
If you plan to leave your tree curbside, waste service companies typically offer Christmas tree pickup in the first two weeks of January, collecting the trees with yard waste trucks separate from regular garbage pickup. Companies will then take the trees to local facilities for disposal.
Waste Management delivers Christmas trees to compost facilities such as the Willow Ranch compost facility in Romeoville, which is run by the company.
Groot, another waste service company, first takes trees to one of their transfer stations like the Elk Grove Village materials recycling facility. The trees are then loaded onto larger vehicles like tractors and trailers and sent to Thelen Materials, a yard waste and compost disposal facility in Antioch.
Flood Brothers, which previously reported on its website that holiday greenery would be disposed of with regular garbage, recently stated that Christmas trees collected curbside will be turned into mulch at an approved yard waste facility in January.
While yard waste facilities often close in December, they will typically reopen briefly in January to accept Christmas trees.
Tia Messino, assistant to the village manager in Carol Stream, which contracts its waste removal with Flood Brothers, said the village hasn't had trees composted for several years because they weren't aware of other options.
She said trees from the village will now go to Midwest Compost, a facility in West Chicago.
"We're just excited," Messino said. "We work with SCARCE all the time, and to have this opportunity that we can improve the sustainability of our community, we're just grateful for that opportunity."