31 Dec 2010

greenHILLhome – Christmas Tree Collections

Not the way to dispose of your tree in DC. Uploaded to flickr.com by novemberwolf

Having a real Christmas tree is a tradition in my family, and when my wife and I got married we decided to keep that tradition going in our home.  The fresh cut at the trunk helps the tree take in more water from the stand, but that starts to slow and pretty soon the tree is dry and brittle and ready for the next stage of its existence – mulch.

The DC Department of Public Works will collect trees curbside from January 3 through January 15.  Trees need to be placed in the tree box outside your home (or wherever your trash collection occurs) on either Sunday, January 2 or Sunday, January 9.  Trees should not be placed in plastic or cloth bags or wrapped in any way.  You can include other holiday greenery with your tree, such as wreaths and garland.  Trees set out after January 15 will be collected with regularly scheduled trash as space permits in the trash trucks.

Note that leaf collection also continues city-wide through January 15, 2011.  DC DPW has made the first collection pass on most of Capitol Hill.  The second collection has already started in areas north of East Capitol Street, and will continue through January 1 on the Hill south of East Capitol Street.

If you use a compost bin, you can add your Christmas tree to your compost pile provided it is in small pieces.  The trunk will take a while to break down so perhaps stick with branches and clippings and mix them with kitchen scraps and other compostable waste.

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