Tons of Recycled Christmas Trees Bring Post-Holiday Cheer to Dumps

The second Christmas tree recycling program by the Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County was a success, according to the agency and participating cities.

When the program ended Jan. 18, about 235,000 trees had been picked up in the 45 cities and unincorporated county areas that participated, said Don Avila, spokesman for the county agency.

“This was the first time we had such a large participation in the county,” he said. “What we did last year wasn’t nearly as successful.”

The cities or their trash haulers took the trees to Calabasas, Puente Hills, Scholl Canyon and Spadra landfills, which are operated by the districts.

“If you go up there, it smells just like Christmas,” Avila said of the Puente Hills landfill near Whittier, the districts’ largest.

The agency started the project to help cities meet a state mandate to reduce waste because the state is running out of landfill space, Avila said.

“Why bury the trees if we can take in green waste and grind it up?” he asked.

Avila said the incentive for cities was allowing them to dump the trees without paying a fee.

The trees were chopped up and ground into compost and mulch that will be used to fertilize the landfills’ soil and greenery, he said.

This is a good use of the trees, said Carol Hendrix, an integrated waste management analyst for West Covina, which participated in the program. Christmas trees are bulky and take up a lot of landfill space, she said.

Other participants who used their own collection crews also saved money.

Lynn Maxwell, a management analyst for Pomona, said 5,000 to 6,000 trees were picked up by the city’s public works and parks crews. Residents had the option of curbside pickup or taking the trees to drop-off points, she said.

Maxwell estimated that Pomona crews made about 40 trips and dumped at least three tons of trees.

“We think the program is great, she said. “It was a big benefit to the city.”

It was also a community effort, said Rick Raum, resource recovery manager for Newco Waste Systems, which collects trash for Arcadia, Bradbury, Duarte, and Monrovia. He hopes the program will become permanent.

Residents of La Canada Flintridge brought in about 15 tons of trees, public works assistant Mindy Jacobs said. A parking lot near City Hall was used as a drop-off site from Dec. 28 to Jan. 5.

Jacobs said the city hired two contractors to pick up and chop the trees, which were taken to the Scholl Canyon landfill in Glendale.

“This benefited the city because it contributed to our conversion goals to divert a (percentage) of our landfill waste,” she said.

Other cities that participated include Alhambra, Baldwin Park, Covina, Diamond Bar, Glendora, La Verne, Monterey Park, Pasadena, Rosemead, San Dimas and Walnut.

According to Avila, the districts will offer the project annually as an offshoot of the districts’ green-waste recovery program. That program receives grass, leaf and other yard clippings at reduced rates at the four landfills.

“We have had such a positive response from the cities and the county,” said Chuck Carry, chief engineer of the districts, “that we expect the program to be twice as big next year.”