WASHINGTON — It’s been the centerpiece of your holiday, but it is about that time to take the Christmas tree down. However, what you decide to do with it depends on what kind of tree it is.
In a number of jurisdictions, you can recycle your cut tree. Just make sure to take all ornaments and tinsel off. Director of the Prince George’s County Department of the Environment Adam Ortiz says it’s important to get rid of any objects on the Christmas tree because the tree will end up as mulch.
“We don’t want people putting plastic material or tinsel back into the earth when they use it as compost or mulch in their gardens,” Ortiz says.
Montgomery County government’s guide to recycling your holiday materials explains that live trees — the ones that have a rootball — can’t be processed as yard trim, so don’t put those out for collection.
When it comes to artificial trees, Ortiz says see if you can reuse them in some way. He says thrift stores often use them as decoration for the next holiday season, or depending on their condition, they can be resold.
Holiday lights can be “recycled” a number of ways.
“There’s a number of crafty ways that people reuse old Christmas lights, including wrapping wreaths or other projects,” Ortiz says.
Montgomery County also has information on stores that will accept used Christmas lights.
If you don’t mind taking a drive, you can take your cut tree to one of the aviaries at some of Maryland’s state parks.
Sarah Milborne, manager at Rocky Gap State Park, explains that old Christmas trees are introduced into the aviaries where birds that are part of the parks’ Scales and Tales are kept. The birds of prey housed in the parks have been injured and can’t be returned to the wild, so they become part of the education program at the parks.
Milborne explains the trees are like furniture for the many raptors that live in the aviaries.
“Some of our smaller birds, like our screech owls which weigh just 160-200 grams — about the size of a hot dog — love to nestle inside the trees. It’s a great enrichment opportunity for them,” Milborne says.
Get more information on Christmas tree recycling on a county-by-county basis:
- D.C.
- Maryland:
- Virginia
