County to Pick Up Christmas Trees for Recycling

In what has become a post-holiday tradition, the Ventura County Solid Waste Management Department will be picking up Christmas trees in the next few weeks for recycling.

Before recycling the tree, residents should carefully remove all ornaments, nails, tinsel, metal support rods and tree stands. Flocked or fireproofed trees cannot be accepted for recycling.

Residents with yard debris collection can put their tree into their yard debris barrel at any time, county officials said. In addition, curbside collection and drop-off locations will be available in various communities.

Last year the county collected 80,000 trees, which were recycled into garden mulch, according to county officials.

* Bell Canyon: Curbside Jan. 4.

* Camarillo: Curbside Jan. 9. Apartment complexes by appointment.

* Channel Islands Beach: Curbside through Jan. 6. Or drop off at 353 Santa Monica Drive, through Jan. 21.

* Moorpark: Curbside Jan. 2-13.

* Fillmore: Cut tree into three-foot lengths and place inside or next to yard debris barrel on Jan. 6 and 20 or drop off at Mountain View and Main Street.

* Ojai and upper Ojai Valley: Place tree inside of or next to yard debris barrel on the normal collection day through Jan. 6.

* Oxnard: Curbside through Jan. 13.

* Port Hueneme: Curbside through Jan. 13.

* Point Mugu: Curbside Jan. 9-10; Camarillo Housing, Jan. 6.

* Santa Paula: Curbside through Jan. 13.

* Simi Valley: Place tree inside or next to yard debris barrel at the curb on the normal refuse collection day.

* Susana Knolls: Curbside through Jan. 2 ($3 charge for this recycling service).

* Thousand Oaks: Drop-off centers will be open through Jan. 8 at Borchard Park Service Center at 250 Reino Road, Newbury Park; Triunfo Community Park, 980 Aranmoor Ave., Westlake Village; Cal Lutheran University, Mount Clef Boulevard and Lynn Road; Home Depot, 500 N. Ventu Road, Newbury Park; Park & Ride at Janss Road and the Moorpark Freeway; and Park & Ride, Rancho Road at Ventura Freeway.

* Ventura: Apartment complexes by appointment. Place tree inside of or next to yard debris barrel on yard debris collection day through Jan. 6. Apartment complexes by appointment.

* Unincorporated Ventura County: Place tree in yard debris barrel and set out on the normal yard debris collection day. Call your hauler for information on special pickups.

* Free drop-off locations: Ojai Valley Recycling Center at Old Baldwin Road between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., through Saturday; or Simi Valley Landfill at 2801 Madera Road through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Free mulch will be available at the Ojai Valley Recycling Center, Simi Valley Landfill and California Wood Recycling at 3450-A Auto Center off Johnson Drive, Ventura, through Jan. 23.