Howell Recycle Your Christmas Tree

Press release from Howell Township:

Posted on: December 28, 2020

Recycle Your Christmas Tree

Recycle Your Christmas Tree
Every year an estimated 25-30 million real Christmas trees are cut
and sold in the United States. Instead of all those trees ending up
in the landfill there are many uses for Christmas trees after the
holiday.

If you enjoy watching wildlife and have some space in your
backyard, consider placing your tree outside and decorating it with
edible ornaments or popcorn strings to provide a winter food
source for wild birds and squirrels.

Create a winter brush pile and help wildlife and birds during the
winter months by offering food and protection. Recycled
Christmas trees make a great base for a brush pile. Brush piles
can be made with a Christmas tree base and then include leaves,
logs and twigs.

Enrich your soil by cutting up and composting your recycled

Christmas tree. Pine needles are a good mulching material for
certain plants such as strawberries, helping to keep the fruit dry
and off the ground along with deterring fungus, mold and slugs.
Pine needles used in between raised beds will suppress weeds
and create natural walkways. Pine needles and boughs can also
be used to cover your garden beds in the winter.

Christmas trees have been collected and used by several shore

communities to help fight beach erosion. Christmas trees have
been used to help repair damage to sand dunes created by high
winds and foot traffic. Trees catch sand as the wind blows it and
tend to work better than a sand fence. Check to see if a local
beach community may be able to use your Christmas tree.
Many farm rescues will accept donations of Christmas trees that
are undecorated, untreated and still green. The needles of your
old Christmas tree make tasty, healthy treats for goats. The
needles contain Vitamin C and also work as a natural de-wormer.
Several states have started utilizing goats as part of their yearly
Christmas tree recycling program.
Christmas trees are versatile, biodegradable and there so many
more uses for them after they are done decorating your home.

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This press release was produced by Howell Township. The views expressed here are the author’s own.