Recycle Your Christmas Tree

Remember to recycle your natural Christmas tree. First, remove the stand and all decorations--including lights, ornaments, tinsel and garlands. Be sure there is no metal attached to the tree. Then take the tree to the curb on your regular recycling day, and if you are like me, remove any ornaments you missed the first time around. You can also recycle branches and needles by placing them under trees and shrubs as a temporary winter mulch--or chop them up and add them to a compost pile. Many of the trees collected by the County get turned into mulch, therefore January and February are great months to get free mulch from the County. Bonus: The Christmas tree mulch smells fantastic.