Countywide : Dried-Out Yule Trees Turned Into Mulch

Now that most Christmas trees are ready to be thrown out, some Orange County cities are encouraging residents to contribute them for mulching or community bonfires as alternatives to leaving them on curbsides for the weekly trash pickup.

The cities of Irvine and Orange are experimenting with mulching--chopping trees into tiny wood chips that can be put to a number of uses in homes and gardens--in what city officials hope will become a tradition, replacing the practice of sending old trees to the dump with the rest of the city’s trash.

“It’s a way of diverting some of this wood that would go to landfills to other sources,” said Jane Owens, a spokeswoman for the city of Orange.

Owens said wood chips can be used on top of wooden patios to keep weeds from popping up through the crevices or over topsoil to help dirt in the planters stay moist.

Both cities are sponsoring separate, new programs to encourage residents to participate.

In Orange, trees are being chipped on the spot at the parking lot of the Sears Auto Service at the Mall of Orange, and the public is invited to scoop up and take home as much mulch as desired. The center is open through this weekend. Hours are weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to noon.

In Irvine, Eldarica pine seedlings will be offered this weekend in exchange for contributing trees for mulching. The exchange center is at Barranca Parkway and the East Yale Loop and is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

Cindy Asher, a coordinator of Irvine Recycles, which organized the Irvine exchange, estimated that 1,000 old trees were offered for mulching in exchange for just under 1,000 seedlings at the drop-off point Saturday and Sunday. She said the city is expecting at least that many for this weekend’s exchange.

Asher said that private companies were contracted to do the mulching and that any leftover wood chips will be cultivated into the site, which is the future home of Windrow Park.

Elsewhere in the county, the Fire Department is encouraging residents to join in tossing their trees into one of its community bonfires as an alternative to leaving the dried-out decoration for the next garbage collection.

“Just putting a tree out to be picked up by the trash (collector) is not the best idea,” said Kathleen Cha, a spokeswoman for the County Fire Department. “They’re very flammable right now. Anytime those needles start dropping off, you’ve got a fire hazard.”

The Fire Department is sponsoring two bonfires Saturday. In Rancho Santa Magarita, the fire will be at 4:30 p.m. on the Southeast corner of Comercio and Avenida Empresa; in San Juan Capistrano, the 7:30 p.m. burn will be at the empty lot at the end of La Novia Avenue, east of San Juan Creek Road.