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Christmas came and went and now it's time to rid of your holly, jolly tree.
Before you get rid of your tree, make sure it's rid of all lights, tinsel, ornaments and any other materials not part of the original tree, including tree stands. When you get rid of your tree, it'll likely be chipped and turned into mulch.
As a safety warning, please be sure to never burn your Christmas tree. That's how creosote builds up in your chimney; not to mention it could cause a fire.
Here's what you should do to get rid of your Christmas tree:
Austin
If you're a City of Austin curbside customer, you can leave your Christmas tree on the curb on your normal collection day for it to be recycled. Trees over 6 feet should be cut in half.
All other residents are urged to leave their trees at Zilker Park on the first two weekends of January (Jan. 2, Jan. 8, Jan. 9) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to be composted into Dillo Dirt.
Here's a list of additional free drop-off locations:
- Texas Disposal Systems, TDS Landfill: 3016 FM 1327, Creedmoor, Texas
- Texas Disposal Systems, Eco Depot: 4001 RR 620 South, Bee Cave, Texas
- Organics By Gosh, 13602 FM 969, Austin, TX 78724 | (512) 276-1211
- Walker Aero Environmental (JV Dirt), 3600 FM 973 North Austin, Texas 78725
- Whittlesey Landscape Supplies, 3219 S IH 35 Round Rock, Texas 78664,
- Whittlesey Landscape Supplies, 629 Dalton Lane, Austin, Texas 78742
- Travis County Transfer Station, 2625 Woodall Dr. Leander, Texas 78641
- Travis County Service Center, 6013 Blue Bluff Rd Austin, Texas 78724
- Del Valle Softball Complex (Behind the Southwest Rural Center), 3614 FM 973 Del Valle, Texas 78617
Dallas
For curbside collection, leave your tree out on your regular trash collection day. You can also drop off your tree at the following locations, but contact the Dallas Zero Waste Hotline at 214-670-4475 first:
- Northwest Transfer Station: 9500 Harry Hines Blvd, 75220
- McCommas Bluff Landfill: 5100 Youngblood, Rd.
Houston
City of Houston residents can leave their tree out on the curb on their scheduled Tree Waste Day to be recycled. You can also drop off your tree at one of several free locations from December 26 to the second Monday in January:
Open Wednesday to Sunday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
- Central Neighborhood Depository - 2240 Central St.
- Kirkpatrick Neighborhood Depository - 5565 Kirkpatrick
- Sommermeyer Neighborhood Depository - 14400 Sommermeyer
- N. Main Neighborhood Depository - 9003 N. Main
- Southwest Neighborhood Depository - 10785 SW Freeway
- Sunbeam Neighborhood Depository - 5100 Sunbeam
Open daily, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
- Kingwood (Branch Library)- Bens View Lane @ Bens Branch Drive
- Doss Park (gates close at 5) - 2500 Frick Road (County Park)
- Memorial Park (Ball Fields 4 and 5) - 7300 Memorial Drive
- T.C. Jester Park - 4200 T.C. Jester West
- Elington Airport Recycling Drop-off -HWY 3@ Brantley Road
Open Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
- Westpark Consumer Recycling Center - 5900 Westpark
Open Monday to Friday, 7 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday, 7 a.m. to noon
- Living Earth - 5802 Crawford Rd.
- Living Earth - 1503 Industrial Dr, Missouri City
- Living Earth - 1700 Highway 90A East, Richmond
- Living Earth - 12202 Cutten Road
- Living Earth - 16138 Highway 6
- Living Earth - 5210 S. Sam Houston Pkwy E
- Living Earth - 27733 Katy Freeway, Katy TX
- Living Earth - 10310 Beaumont Highway
- Living Earth - 17555 I-45 South, Conroe TX
- Living Earth -20611 US Hwy 59, New Caney TX
- Living Earth - 1000 FM 1266, Dickinson TX
- Living Earth - 16955 Katy- Hockley Rd
- Living Earth - 9306 FM 523, Freeport TX
For more information, visit PickYourOwnChristmasTree.org or contact your local trash collection agency.