How To: Recycle a Christmas Tree
For those of you who celebrate the holidays with a blue spruce or Douglas fir, the fresh smell of pine today will be replaced by dry, dead branches and lots of pine needles in January. But that tree isn’t done yet! There are plenty of uses for it around your home and neighborhood.
Backyard Habitat
The
simplest way to reuse your holiday tree is to
throw it in the backyard — that’s if your
yard is big enough that a dried-out pine tree
won’t be an eyesore for you or your
neighbors. Winter birds and other wildlife will
appreciate the additional cover in your
backyard. This is also a great spot for
homemade bird feeders — pine cones smeared
with peanut butter and birdseed that can be
tied to the tree. You can even make garlands of
popcorn and cranberries for your tree during
the holidays and leave them on the tree for the
birds to eat.
For a decorative approach, stand the tree up, anchor the base with some dirt, and use heavy twine and stakes to hold it in place. If the ground is already frozen, stand the tree up in a planter or other large container filled with sand. Be sure to remove anything non-edible from the tree before you turn it into a wilderness tree house.
Garden Groundcover
Pine
branches make excellent groundcover. They help
hold moisture in the ground, keep soil in place
. . . and smell much better than mulch!
Use a hand saw or pruning
shears to cut small branches off the tree, then
spread the boughs where needed around your
garden. If you’re laying groundcover around
bushes or other perennial plants, you can leave
the branches on the ground as long as you like.
Dry pine needles make an excellent bed for
fruits like strawberries that grow on the
ground. If you’re using your pine boughs to
cover up a bed of tulips or other bulbs, remove
the branches in the early spring so flowers can
bloom.
Thick branches and tree trunks must be mulched before they can be used in the garden or be composted. You can also use these large pieces of wood to create stakes and trellises for large plants. Pine needles may initially increase acidity in your compost pile, but as the compost breaks down the acidity will move back to neutral (although it can take a while for pine needles to decompose).
Water Wonder
Anchored
evergreens offer an economical solution to
streambank erosion. Properly installed, these
trees can slow bank erosion and provide a place
for sediment to deposit and build. This method
is particularly useful in small and medium
streams where large machinery can’t fit.
Contact a natural resource professional for
advice on how to get started. The League’s Handbook
for Stream Enhancement & Stewardship
also offers helpful diagrams and how-to tips.
You may need to apply for a permit, depending
on your local and state regulations.
If your chapter isn’t ready to take the plunge into stream erosion control, check with your state or local Department of Natural Resources to ask about local river, ocean, or lake erosion prevention programs that may be able to put your tree to good use.
Recycling Other Holiday
Décor
Trees aren’t the only
holiday items that can have a life outside the
landfill. Following are a few other ways to
make your holidays more “green.”
Green Greetings: An estimated 2.6 billion holiday cards are sold each year in the United States, enough to fill a football field 10 stories high. Before you throw the card from the Smiths in the recycling bin, consider other uses for it:
- Use this year’s cards for gift tags next year.
- Make ornaments or decorations from those old cards using a pair of scissors, a hole punch, and some decorative ribbon or string.
Lights Out: If your holiday lights stop twinkling and your community does not recycle bulbs, you can mail your broken bulbs to:
Christmas Light Source
Recycling Program
4313 Elmwood Drive
Benbrook, TX 76116
The bulbs will be recycled, and proceeds will be used to purchase books for the Marine Corps’ Toys for Tots program.
HolidayLEDs.com (UPDATED ADDRESS)
Attn: Recycling Program
3849 Guest Road
Jackson, MI 49203
Include your name and e-mail address to receive a discount on future light purchases.
Eliminate E-Waste: When you buy a new electronic gadget, avoid throwing the old one in a landfill. The Electronics Industry Alliance offers a state-by-state list of electronics collection sites and recyclers at http://www.ecyclingcentral.com/.
Illustrations by Bob Dry (www.dryspond.com)
