THOUSAND OAKS : Tree Recycling Sites Different This Year

When it comes to recycling Christmas trees in Thousand Oaks, it’s not the thought that counts.

More than six dozen residents have dropped off their dried-up holiday trees at two of last year’s recycling sites, which are no longer being used as collection points.

And some residents who are using the right collection sites are using the wrong techniques, leaving the stands attached to the trees and making recycling difficult or impossible.

All stands must be removed before the trees can be ground into mulch, said Grahame Watts, the city’s recycling coordinator.

“It’s wonderful that people are not throwing away their Christmas trees but are making the effort to recycle them,” Watts said. “But it’s a major burden on our program” when residents put the holiday trees in the wrong location or leave metal stands affixed to the trunks, Watts said.

About 50 Christmas trees ended up scattered at the corner of Janss Road and the Moorpark Freeway this week, and another 30 lay helter-skelter at the corner of Erbes Road and Avenida de Las Flores. Both sites were popular recycling drop-off points last year, but are not part of this year’s program.

City staff and trash haulers had to spend hours Monday and Tuesday collecting the trees, moving them to proper recycling centers, and posting signs listing the new drop-off sites.

The three proper drop-off sites, open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. through Jan. 5, are: Cal Lutheran University, 60 W. Olsen Road; Home Depot, 500 N. Ventu Park Road; and the Park and Ride lot near Rancho Road off the Ventura Freeway.

From Monday through Jan. 7, residents can also put their trees out with the trash for curbside recycling.

None of the programs accepts flocked trees, which are sprayed with a chemical coating that disrupts the recycling process, Watts said.