Spreading Christmas Throughout the Year

Chopped down, sold, strung with lights and ornaments, then tossed out on the curb, Orange County’s Christmas trees will soon be gone--but not forgotten.

Each year, hundreds of tons of the holiday evergreen are ground up and used for compost and ground cover. Ten years ago the trees would have been buried in a landfill, but cities are now required to have recycling programs.

Which is why virtually all residents will be able to set their trees on the curb for free pickup and recycling on regular trash days through Jan. 8.

“We mix the trees up with other green waste for compost,” said Tom Hale, manager of Tierra Verde Industries, the largest of the few companies that process trees for Orange County cities.

Tierra Verde grinds up 300 to 350 tons of trees a year, mostly from the central and southern parts of the county. About 197 tons of Christmas trees were picked up in 1999 for recycling from Anaheim alone. Another 88 tons came from Santa Ana.

Many cities, such as Costa Mesa, sprinkle the mulch on public trails. Others use the compost to add nutrients to street medians and flower beds.

Tierra Verde sells its compost to anyone who wants it--from homeowners looking to boost their gardens to customers wanting 50 to 100 cubic yards of the smelly stuff. The average cost is $15 per cubic yard, but the price goes down as the quantity goes up, Hale said.

For city pickup, trees must be stripped of lights, ornaments and stands and be at the curb on trash collection days. Trees taller than 6 feet should be cut in half.

Flocked trees also will be picked up, but they will be dumped at a landfill because of the chemicals sprayed on the limbs.

Although some trees have already been picked up for recycling, most will be put out on the curb after Monday, area waste haulers said.

“Next week is when it really starts getting heavy,” said Paul Spann, operations manager for Waste Management of Orange County, which serves Orange, Santa Ana, Irvine, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Laguna Beach and the unincorporated parts of the county.

Taormina Industries, which serves Anaheim, Brea, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Placentia, Villa Park and Yorba Linda, has seen a drop in the number of trees picked up each year.

“Part of that is due to people using artificial trees,” said Taormina spokeswoman Wendy Bright. “In other instances, people buying smaller trees are cutting them up and putting them in their yard waste recycling bins, and that’s something we don’t track.”

For more information on tree recycling in your area, visit the county’s Integrated Waste Management Department’s Web site at https://www.oc.ca.gov/iwmd for the name and telephone number of your city’s recycling coordinator, or call (800) CLEANUP.