Prevent a fire by disposing of dry Christmas trees

Chesterfield County residents can recycle their live, undecorated trees at either of the county’s two convenience centers at no charge.

The city’s sanitation department is scheduled to begin curbside pickup of old trees January 2, with the pickups running through the 13th. Some tree recycling centers will even take the plastic variety and dispose of them properly.

Tree-duce, tree-use, tree-cycle.

Please remove tree stands and all decorations, including plastic bags before recycling. To promote recycling and prevent unnecessary fires the city has offered drop-off locations for trees within in the city. Residents may place their trees near the dumpster in the lower parking lot. The National Fire Protection Association says old, dried-out trees pose a threat the longer they remain inside homes.

Or for $5, you can take your tree to Wickman’s to benefit Harmony House.

Between 2011-2015, USA fire departments responded to an average 200 home fires per year that started with Christmas trees. Finally, those with Friday garbage collection will have their trees collected on the fourth week of the month. Allen County has 8 recycling locations from December 26 through January 12. The best method for securing the tree is to dig a hole and place the trunk of the tree in it.

There are still 10 days left in Christmas, but the holiday season is winding down-and so is the usefulness of the noble Christmas tree. Again, they need to be decoration-free, but there’s no need to bundle or cut into four-foot sections this way.

People can also use the trees on their property for erosion control by placing them in gullies or by cutting off boughs and putting them in flower beds to protect roots and bulbs from the winter cold.