City Offers 2 Ways to Recycle Christmas Trees

That Christmas tree, so green and fresh when you bought it a month ago, is now probably dry and brittle. So how can you properly dispose of what is fast becoming a fire hazard?

Under a recycling program announced Monday by the Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation, there are two ways.

The first is to cut up the tree and place it in the 64-gallon yard-trimming container provided to most residents. The container can be placed at the curb for city pickup on the resident’s regular trash pickup day. Trees must not extend more than one foot out of the container, Sones said.

Trees placed outside the container will not be picked up, and residents can be cited for creating a fire hazard, he added.

The second recycling option is to bring the tree to any one of 12 city-sanctioned drop-off sites throughout Los Angeles.

The sites will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday and Jan. 8, 9 and 15.

Tree drop-off sites will be opened at the Los Angeles Zoo; Branford Park in Arleta; Sunland Park; Balboa Sports Center in Encino; Chatsworth Park South; the Highland Park Senior Citizen Center; Westchester Municipal Building; the Hollywood Bowl; Rancho Cienega Recreation Center; South Park; the Cheviot Hills Recreation Center; and Harbor Regional Park.

Last year, 150,000 Christmas trees were recycled by Los Angeles residents, Sones said.

The trees are turned over to private companies that grind them up to create mulching and composting material to be sold to gardeners, Sones said.

Unlike regular Christmas trees, flocked trees cannot be recycled. City officials said they should be cut into pieces and placed in the regular black containers provided by the city to residents for trash disposal.

Residents needing more information on recycling their trees may contact the city at (800) 5-TREE-56.