To be environmentally correct, trees must be clean, green and recycled.

YULE ECOLOGY: In the old days, many families marked the close of the holidays by packing away the ornaments, tossing out the strings of stale popcorn and toting the parched Christmas tree to the city dump.

But in the environmentally correct ‘90s, South Bay residents have another option: recycling their trees.

Many cities and refuse companies will accept trees as long as the ornaments, decorations and stands are removed. Most companies also do not take flocked trees.

“It has to be a clean, green tree,” said a spokesman for Western Waste Industries Inc., which handles trash pickup for much of the South Bay.

In most areas, trees can be left for the normal garbage pickup this week. Some cities have drop-off sites. Trees taller than six feet may have to be sawed into pieces.

Residents should check with their City Hall for tree disposal instructions beyond these:

* Carson: Regular garbage pickup through Friday. Trees can also be dropped off at Western Waste, 401 E. Francisco St.

* El Segundo: Regular garbage pickup through Jan. 14, or trees can be left at the city yard, 150 Illinois St.

* Gardena: Recycling program ended Friday.

* Hawthorne: Curbside pickup through Friday. Information: (310) 675-3331.

* Hermosa Beach: Trees should be left at the curb by 6 a.m. Saturday. Residents may also place trees in a dumpster behind City Hall, 1315 Valley Drive.

* Inglewood: Regular pickup through Friday.

* Lawndale: Second trash pickup day of the week. Trees can be taken to the city yard at 4722 W. Manhattan Beach Blvd. between 6 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. through Jan. 14.

* Lomita: Normal trash pickup. Trees must be cut and bundled less than 4 feet long and 15 inches in diameter. Drop-off is available at City Hall through Friday.

* Manhattan Beach: Regular pickup through Friday.

* Palos Verdes Estates: Pickup at 6 a.m. Saturday.

* Rancho Palos Verdes: Trees will be accepted at City Hall, 30940 Hawthorne Blvd.

* Redondo Beach: Regular pickup through Friday.

* Rolling Hills: Regular pickup Jan. 10 to 12.

* Rolling Hills Estates: Curbside pickup at 6 a.m. Saturday. The Palos Verdes Recycling Center, 26301 Crenshaw Blvd., is accepting trees between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. through Jan. 11.

* Torrance: Regular pickup through Friday.

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FOREVER WILD: South Bay nature lovers got a late Christmas gift this year--news that 28.5 acres on the Palos Verdes Peninsula will be preserved as open space.

The land, part of a former cattle ranch, had been held by the Chandler Trust. It was transferred Thursday to the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy and the city of Rolling Hills Estates. The transaction’s purpose is to keep the land undeveloped in perpetuity.

“It’s a big natural area, and that’s the way it’s going to be, forever,” said conservancy President William Ailor.

The land consists of some low hills and a canyon near the former Dapplegray Intermediate School near the end of Empty Saddle, Strawberry, Buckskin and Clubview lanes. Most of the land falls within the borders of Rolling Hills Estates, although a two-acre piece is in Torrance. It is one of the largest pieces of open land remaining in Rolling Hills Estates.

The Chandler Trust donated 20 acres to the land conservancy and sold another eight acres to the city for $1.4 million, which came from Proposition A funds.

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D.C. SHUFFLE: Once again, Rep. Jane Harman (D-Marina del Rey), who represents a large part of the coastal South Bay, will be sifting through resumes to find a new chief of staff.

After only four months in the post, Harman’s chief of staff, Kyle Zimmer, stepped down Friday to take a job with her old employer, Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, a Washington auto safety lobbying group.

Zimmer’s predecessor, Bill Black, left to work for Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) after just eight months with Harman.

Harman, in Hilton Head, S.C., for the New Year’s weekend, said Zimmer left because she was offered a higher-level job by her former employer. Harman downplayed the two-departures-a-year turnover in the chief-of-staff post. Overall, Harman said, “We have had little turnover on the staff.”

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“There’s something about it that just charges your body up.”

--Phyllis Svilicich, 61, former Polar Bear queen, describing the sensation of plunging into bone-chilling ocean waters. The Cabrillo Beach Polar Bears planned their 42nd annual New Year’s Day swim Saturday in the waters off San Pedro.