Community Corner

Where To Recycle Christmas Trees In The Hopatcong, Sparta Area

Time to undeck the halls? Here are options to dispose of their Christmas trees in an environmentally safe way.

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Time to undeck the halls? Here are options to dispose of their Christmas trees in an environmentally safe way.
Time to undeck the halls? Here are options to dispose of their Christmas trees in an environmentally safe way. (Photo courtesy of Russ Crespolini)

Whether you are packing away the yuletide cheer before the New Year or stretching out the season until after little Christmas on Jan. 6, when the time comes to undeck the halls and dispose of the Christmas tree, there are plenty of options.

In many urban and suburban areas, Christmas trees are collected from curbside during January as long as all lights, wire, tinsel, ornaments, nails, stands are removed. In most cases, the trees are chipped and made into a mulch which is usually made available, free to city or county residents.

In Hopatcong, curbside collection of Christmas trees begins in January. As the Christmas trees are composted, the trees must have the stand and ornaments removed and cannot be in plastic or other bags. The trees can also be brought, at no charge, to the Recycling Center during normal operating hours. Hopatcong Recycling Center is located on the Veterans Way portion of Flora Avenue.

Find out what's happening in Hopatcong-Spartafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Sparta Township Public Works will be collecting Christmas trees that are left at the curb no later than Jan. 17. Trees must be bare with no stands, ornaments, lights, tinsel or bags, according to the township. No additional branches or tree parts will be collected.

But if you can't wait, here are some locations that accept trees:

Find out what's happening in Hopatcong-Spartafor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Boonton Town Recycling Depot

Boonton Township Recycling Depot

  • 155 Powerville Road (Behind Municipal Building) Boonton Twp., NJ 07005
  • Tel: (973) 402-4024 Fax: (973) 402-4025
  • WWW: www.boontontownship.com

Chatham Twp. Recycling Depot

Denville Recycling Depot

East Hanover Recycling Depot & Convenience Center

Long Hill Public Works Recycling Center

Madison Recycling Depot

  • Madison Borough Garage at John Avenue Madison, NJ 07940
  • Tel: 973-593-3088 Fax: 973-593-0125
  • WWW: www.rosenet.org/gov

Parsippany Recycling Depot

  • Pump House Road(Located off Rt. 46 eastbound) Parsippany, NJ 07054
  • Tel: (973) 263-7273 Fax: (973) 263-7373
  • WWW: www.parsippany.net

Randolph Twp Recycling Center

Rockaway Twp. McVeigh Recycling Center

Rockaway Twp. Municipal Garage Recycling Center

Roxbury Twp. Recycling Depot

Washington Twp. Recycling Depot

  • 54 Rock Road Long Valley, NJ 07853
  • Tel: 908-876-3382 Fax: (908) 876-5553
  • WWW: www.wtmorris.org

Looking for other options besides recycling? AOL put together a list with some uses for a dead Christmas trees:

  • Firewood.
  • Mulch.
  • Pathways. Cut the trunk into slices to use as stepping stones (stepping trees?) in your garden or around your yard. They can be used along the edges of existing paths as markers, and can be painted white to lead the way home at night.
  • Bird feeder. Cut the tree down to a few feet high and drill out the trunk to create a hole for bird seed and other bird food. Then sit back and let the bird watching begin.
  • Dune restoration. Christmas trees are sometimes used after hurricanes to rebuild sand dunes and banks by allowing sand that builds up to cover the tree, which helps hold the sand down. Contact your local conservation group or government agency that works on the beach in your area to see if your tree can be donated for dune restoration.
  • Artwork. If you have the skills, or even if you don't, carve a large section of the trunk into a sculpture. Or cut a cross section of the trunk and paint it to create art for your garden.
  • Insulate perennials. Cut off some of the boughs and lay them over perennial beds to insulate them from the snow and frost.
  • Coasters. Cut the trunk into thin slices and sand them down to create unique coasters. If sap is coming out of the tree pieces, paint a thin layer of polyurethane over them.

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