FORT SMITH, Ark – Try recycling rather than throwing away Christmas trees after the holidays, for the benefit of the environment, Riverside County officials said Monday.
According to the Department of Waste Resources, residents can ensure trees are turned into “nutrient rich” mulch by participating in the agency’s curbside pickup program, or taking seasonal firs directly to the Badlands and Lamb Canyon landfills east of Moreno Valley.
“The holiday season always ends with plenty of returns, and your Christmas tree is no exception,” according to an agency statement. “Return your natural Christmas tree to the ground it grew in by dropping it off at a county landfill to be recycled into a nutrient-rich soil amendment.”
The recycling program involves turning tannenbaums into chips and combining them with food waste from the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning to create compost that enhances the soil onto which it’s poured.