Ornaments and decorations are getting packed away, but some families wonder what to do with their Christmas tree now that the holidays are over.
The Burlington County commissioners are encouraging residents to bring their live Christmas trees to the Burlington County Resource Recovery Complex at 22000 Burlington-Columbus Road in Florence to be chipped and composted.
The county’s free “Treecycle” service is offered at the complex Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 7 a.m. to noon.
The complex cannot recycle artificial, bagged or flocked trees. All stands, lights, tinsel, wires, ornaments and garland must also be removed.
Holiday lights should not be discarded in recycling cans but can also be brought to the Resource Recovery Complex to be recycled.
Burlington County Commissioner Deputy Director Tom Pullion said recycling your discarded tree and unwanted lights is an environmentally friendly way to start off the new year.
“With the holidays now over, many residents are now packing up their holiday decorations and taking down their trees,” said Pullion, the liaison to the Department of Solid Waste and Recycling. “We want to remind everyone that our county’s treecycling service is available free of charge. It’s a sustainable way to ring in 2022 and it also helps save money for our municipalities by reducing the amount of waste entering our landfill.”
More than 69 million pounds of recyclables have been collected from Burlington County towns this year, saving those towns and their taxpayers over $3 million in landfill fees.
Several municipalities also offer curbside collection and/or a drop off for discarded trees. Residents should contact their local town to verify when collections occur and any special requirements or restrictions.
Information about curbside tree collections is also available on the county’s Recycling Coach app. The free app has information about the county’s recycling program and accepted materials, as well as updates and alerts about collection schedules for each town and tips and advice about recycling.
For more information, call (609) 499-1001, ext. 271 or 272 or email [email protected].
“Burlington County collects recycling in all 40 of our towns and we’re one of the only counties in New Jersey to provide this service free-of-charge. It is a proven property tax saver that we’re extremely proud of, but we need our residents to help out by taking the time to recycle the right materials properly,” Pullion said. “Downloading the Recycling Coach app is a great way to stay up to date with the recycling schedule and to understand exactly what can and cannot be recycled.”
Curbside Christmas tree collection information can be found at https://www.co.burlington.nj.us/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1981.
