VIRGINIA, USA — The holidays are coming to a close. The gift boxes should be recycled, but how do residents recycle live trees?
For those who are looking for a quicker, easier disposal option, look no further. Cities and counties across Hampton Roads are offing tree recycling options.
Many cities and counties collect and chip the Christmas trees into mulch or compost that is used to spruce up community parks, roadway plantings and median areas. The trees, which should be free of lights, ornaments, tinsel or decorations, can be placed at the curb on scheduled collection days or taken to a designated drop-off location.
The National Fire Protection Association said nearly one-third (29 percent) of U.S. home fires that begin with Christmas trees occurs in January.
“Natural Christmas trees are truly the gift that keeps on giving,” said Rebekah Eastep, a team leader with askHRgreen.org. “Recycling your tree, or ‘treecycling,’ keeps it out of the landfill, whether you are leaving it curbside for your locality pickup, taking it to a drop-off location or reusing in your lawn and garden areas.”
Here's a breakdown of what residents should do with their trees by area in Hampton Roads, according to askHRgreen.org:
Chesapeake: For two weeks following Christmas, trees will be picked up at the curb on the regular trash collection day. Residents do not need to schedule a bulk pickup during these two weeks only. Remove all ornaments, tinsel and the stand. Place it separately from bulk waste and regular trash so it can be easily collected. Trees collected during this time avoid the landfill and are brought to a mulching center.
Gloucester: Dec. 26 to Feb. 2, residents may place Christmas trees in the brush container at any Gloucester County Convenience Center during regular hours (Monday – Friday 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.). Tree should be free of the stand, ornaments, tinsel, and lights. Trees will be mulched for use as cost-saving landfill cover. Any questions may be directed to Waste Management at (804) 693-5109. Here's a list of locations.
- Middle Peninsula Landfill and Recycling Center – 3714 Waste Management Way (Entrance on Route 17).
- Belroi – 5122 Hickory Ford Road
- Dutton – 10430 Burke’s Pond Road
- Court House – 6550 Beehive Drive
- Hayes – 7599 Guinea Road
Hampton: Ongoing, trees will be picked up at curbside on regular trash collection day. Residents can also bring naturally grown trees to be recycled at the Yard Waste Transfer Site, 100 N. Park Lane (off Big Bethel Road at entrance to Bethel Landfill) from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday (closed city holidays). Tree should be free of the stand, ornaments, tinsel and lights. Place natural trees separate from bulk waste and regular trash. Do not put in a bag or put netting around it. Artificial trees should not be placed with leaves, grass or tree branches. Trees will be mulched or composted at the VPPSA Composting Facility. Mulch and compost are available for purchase by the public at the composting facility.
Isle of Wight: Ongoing tree collection services. Natural Christmas trees can be recycled at any of Isle of Wight’s Refuse & Recycling Centers. Tree should be free of the stand, ornaments, tinsel and lights. Trees will be composted.
James City County: From Dec. 26-Jan. 31, natural trees can be recycled at any of James City County’s Convenience Centers. Tree should be free of the stand, ornaments, tinsel and lights. Trees will be composted.
Newport News: Ongoing, curbside or at the Recover Operations Center located at 530 Atkinson Way (Monday-Saturday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. except for city observed holidays. Remove all tinsel, ornaments and metal stands. If placed curbside, please place the tree separate from bulk trash during your regular week for bulk collection. You can confirm your collection schedule or call 311 for more information.
Norfolk: From Dec. 26-Jan. 3, trees can be taken to Norfolk Waste Management Facility, 1176 Pineridge Road, from Monday to Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. All tress must be free of lights, decorations, tinsel and artificial elements.
Poquoson: From Dec. 26–Jan. 21, residents can drop off natural trees to be composted at the Municipal Pool Parking Lot (16 Municipal Drive, Poquoson). Trees should be free of the stand, ornaments, tinsel and lights.
Portsmouth: Ongoing, trees should be left curbside. Portsmouth will pick up Christmas trees on resident's regular scheduled trash days. Tree should be free of the stand, ornaments, tinsel and lights. Trees will be used as landfill cover.
Smithfield: Now through Jan. 10, trees should be left curbside. Residents must contact Kathy Bew-Jones at 365-4200 or kjones@smithfieldva.gov and provide your address if you have a Christmas tree to be picked up. Tree should be free of the stand, ornaments, tinsel, garland and lights. Trees will be composted.
Suffolk: From Dec. 26 to Jan. 7, all-natural trees should be left curbside. Christmas trees will be handled as normal debris but during this two-week period collections will not count against your 12 free bulk pickup collections.
Virginia Beach: Ongoing, trees will be picked up curbside. Waste Management will be collecting real trees curbside (minus the tinsel, lights, and ornaments) on resident's normal collection day. Trees can also be dropped off at the City Landfill & Resource Recovery Center.
Williamsburg: On Jan. 7 and Jan. 13, trees will be collected curbside. The City Crews will be collecting Christmas trees on Tuesday, January 7 and Monday, January 14. Trees must be placed at the curb before 7 AM and should be free of the stand, ornaments and lights. Please place separately from bulk waste and regular trash. Trees will be mulched.
York County: From Jan. 6 to Jan. 10, crews will be collecting trees curbside. All trees must be at the curb by 7 a.m. on January 6 for collection over the one-week period. Tree should be free of the stand, ornaments, tinsel, lights and should be no bigger than six feet in length. Residents who receive garbage collection service through their HOA may also participate, however, in order to provide Christmas tree collections in your community we will need to have approval from your HOA or community management group and designate a central dropoff location for collections. For information specific to your community, please contact your HOA or call the Waste Management Center at (757) 890-3780. For all York County residents, Christmas trees are also accepted at no charge throughout January at the VPPSA Compost Facility (located at 145 Goodwin Neck Road, York County), Monday – Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“Christmas trees are combustible items that become increasingly flammable as they continue to dry out,” said Lorraine Carli, NFPA’s vice president of Outreach and Advocacy. “The longer you keep one in your home, the more of a fire hazard it becomes.”