Christmas Tree Recycling: Pickup, Drop-Off and Home Uses

To recycle a real Christmas tree, take off every ornament, hook and strand of tinsel, then use your town’s curbside pickup or drop-off site, usually in the weeks after Christmas. Many programs turn trees into mulch. You can also reuse one at home as bird shelter, garden cover or a brush pile.

How to recycle a real Christmas tree in your town

Most towns recycle Christmas trees through one of three routes, and your public works page or trash hauler will tell you which applies.

These details come from the National Christmas Tree Association, and rules differ from place to place. Penn State Extension adds that some municipalities offer wood chip mulch made from the trees they collect.

Don’t leave a dried-out tree against the house while you wait for pickup day. The U.S. Fire Administration advises getting rid of a tree after Christmas or when it is dry, since a dry tree can burn very hot and very fast.

What to take off before the tree goes out

Everything that isn’t tree has to come off before a tree gets recycled. Penn State Extension says to remove all the decorations and tinsel.

• Ornaments and hooks. Check inside the branches, where small hooks hide.
• Tinsel and garland. Pull it off strand by strand, since it wraps through the needles.
• Lights and the stand. Take these off and store them for next year.
• Tree bags. Leave the plastic bag off unless your program says otherwise.

Flocked, painted or glittered trees are the hard case. Penn State Extension says a tree should be free of paint and glitter, and that flocking makes recycling harder. Call first, and choose an unflocked tree next year if your program won’t take one.

Sweep the fallen needles instead of vacuuming them, as the National Christmas Tree Association suggests. Dry needles can clog a vacuum.

Reusing a Christmas tree in the yard

A real tree has plenty of uses in the yard if your town doesn’t collect it, or if you have the room. Illinois and Penn State extension offices both suggest a few simple ones.

1. Bird shelter. Prop the tree or anchor it with a steel post northwest of your feeders, where it breaks the wind. Illinois Extension suggests adding strings of popcorn and cranberries, pinecones smeared with peanut butter, suet or chopped fruit.
2. Garden cover. Cut the boughs and lay them over perennial beds. They shield plants from swinging winter temperatures and drying winds, especially when there’s no snow cover.
3. Brush pile. Leave it in an out-of-the-way corner of the garden to give wildlife cover. Check local rules first.
4. Compost or chipping. Chop the branches small for a compost heap, or rent or borrow a chipper for the whole tree.

Large ponds are a special case. Illinois Extension describes sinking three or four weighted trees to create fish habitat, and Penn State says to ask your neighbor first if the pond isn’t yours. Don’t drop a tree into any lake or stream on your own.

Can you burn a Christmas tree?

Burning a Christmas tree indoors is unsafe. University of Illinois Extension warns of creosote buildup and chimney fires, and the National Christmas Tree Association says never to burn one in a fireplace or wood stove.

An outdoor fire pit is a different matter, as long as your local rules allow it. Penn State Extension says the resin makes Christmas tree wood best burned outdoors, after it has dried for a few months.

Cutting up a tree yourself

A saw makes a tree easier to manage if it needs to fit a yard waste bin, and the National Christmas Tree Association says to cut it so it fits loosely in the container. A folding or bow saw is enough for most home trees, and gloves keep the sap off your hands.

Some programs cap the length of a bundle, so check first. Save a few round slices if you like a small craft project, since Penn State Extension mentions them as coasters once the wood has fully dried.

Folding and bow saws for cutting a tree to fit

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Choosing next year’s tree with recycling in mind

If handling an old tree each January sounds like a chore, there are other options. Living Christmas trees stay in a pot and go outdoors, and they suit some homes and climates better than others.

For the wider comparison, see real vs. artificial Christmas trees. Real Christmas tree care keeps a cut tree fresher until the day it comes down, and eco-friendly Christmas covers the rest of the season.