Now that the presents are unwrapped and put away laying all over the family room floor (maybe that’s just at my house), it’s time to pack away the ornaments get rid of the Christmas tree.  If you are in posession of one of the 23-30 million live Christmas trees sold each year it’s time to find a location to treecycle.  In a national survey, 93 percent of consumers who used a real Christmas tree recycled their tree in some type of community program.

Christmas trees are recycled for five main types of large-scale uses for post-harvest trees.  These are:

• Chipping (chippings are used for various things from mulch to hiking trails)
• Beachfront erosion prevention
• Lake and river shoreline stabilization
• Fish habitat
• River delta sedimentation management

Check out or more fun facts about Christmas Trees and Recycling here.

I’ve rounded up all the information for most of the Phoenix Metro Cities and their treecycling programs below. 

**NOTE** Residents are asked to remove all nails, stands, tinsel, lights and ornaments from trees and most locations require no bagging of the tree. Flocked trees are not typically accepted because the flocking does not break down in the environment.

Apache Junction – The City of Apache Junction is providing two FREE  Christmas Tree drop off points. The Apache Junction sites available to accept trees for recycling will be open 24 hours/day for free drop-off from January 1 – 26, 2009. Those sites are:

Prospector Park, 3015 N. Idaho Rd.
Animal Control, 725 E. Baseline Ave.

Avondale – Residents of Avondale can recycle their live Christmas trees at no charge.  Trees can be dropped off at the City of Avondale Municipal Operations Service Center, 395 E. Lower Buckeye, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dec. 26 through Jan. 6, with the exception of Jan. 1 when this Service Center will be closed in observance of the New Year’s Day holiday. For more information about Christmas tree recycling, call Avondale’s Field Operations Department at 623-333-4700. (2008)

Buckeye – Buckeye is offering curbside Christmas tree collection.  Residents whose recyclables and solid waste are collected on Mondays and Thursdays should have their Christmas trees curbside on Saturday, Dec. 27, Saturday, Jan., 3 or Saturday, Jan. 10.  Residents whose recyclables and solid waste collections are on Tuesdays and Fridays should have their trees at the curb on Wednesday, Dec. 31, Wednesday, Jan. 7 or Wednesday, Jan. 14.  

Once the trees are placed curbside, residents are asked to leave them at the curb until they are collected.  For more information call the Buckeye Public Works Department, 623-349-6805.

Chandler – Curbside Collection for Christmas Trees (December 26, 2008 thru January 16, 2009).  Chandler residents, paying for City-provided solid waste service can place their trees at the edge of their driveway before 6 a.m. on their scheduled recycling collection day (between 12/26/08 and 01/16/09) for curbside Christmas tree collection.

• DO NOT block the sidewalk
• DO NOT place the tree in the blue recycling container, or in the street, or alley.
• DO NOT place tree in refuse, recycle or alley containers.

For more details, call Solid Waste Services at 480-782-3510.

Christmas Tree Drop-Off Sites (December 26, 2008 thru January 18, 2009)  Chandler residents can drop off their Christmas trees at one of several neighborhood drop-off sites. For the location nearest you, check out Chandler’s list of Christmas tree drop-off sites.

Gilbert –  Trees can be dropped off from Dec. 26 through Jan. 5 at:

• Hetchler Park, at Greenfield and Germann roads
• Nichols Park, at Higley and Guadalupe roads
• A to Z Rentals, 1313 E. Baseline Road

Living trees can also be donated to the town for planting in parks and open spaces across the community.

Residents can schedule an appointment to have their tree picked up by calling (480) 503-6274. Trees can also be can dropped off at the Parks Maintenance Facility, 658 N. Freestone Parkway, starting Monday through Friday.

Glendale – The Sanitation Department has established several sites throughout the city where residents can drop off trees for recycling. From Friday, Dec. 26, through Sunday, Jan. 11, bring a single, unbagged tree to one of the following convenient sites (be sure to remove all decorations, tree stands, metal stakes and nails):

• Acoma Park – 53rd Ave. & Acoma Rd.
• Fire Station No. 156 – 67th Ave. & Deer Valley Rd.
• Western Area Regional Park – 83rd Ave. & Bethany Home Rd.
• Foothills Park – 57th Ave. & Union Hills
• Sahuaro Ranch Park – Southeast corner of 63rd Ave. & Mountain View Rd.
• O’Neill Park – 64th Ave. & Missouri Ave.
• Rose Lane Park – 51st Ave. and Marlette Ave.

Goodyear – The City of Goodyear is offering a new curbside collection service as part of its Public Works Sanitation program. Goodyear residents are no longer required to take their Christmas trees to a drop off site. Your tree must be placed out on the curb for collection no later than 6 a.m. as scheduled below. Christmas trees must be separated from your bulk items. Weekly bulk trash will be collected as normally scheduled.

NOTE: The City will also provide extra roll-offs for residents to use for their extra holiday packaging. The roll-offs will be located at the Moose Lodge, PebbleCreek, as well as an additional container at Estrella. They will be available for use from Wednesday, December 24 to January 8th. All items accepted in our curbside recycling program will be accepted at these locations.

City of Goodyear, Public Works Department, 623-932-1637

Maricopa – From December 26, 2008 through January 24, 2009 residents are able to drop off their Christmas trees at the corner of Garvey and Honeycutt on the west side of State Route 347. The area is fenced and signage is posted. This drop-off area is only for previously cut live trees. Please do not bring artificial trees, ornaments or any plastics. There is no charge to drop-off trees.

Mesa – The City of Mesa offers its residents a variety of environmentally friendly ways to dispose of their Christmas trees after the holiday season.  Collected trees are taken to the Salt River Landfill and chipped into nutrient rich mulch.  Benefits from recycling these trees include extending the life of our landfills and reusing our natural and limited resources.

2008/2009 Drop-Off Collection Sites

The following 24-hour drop-off sites will be available Dec. 26-Jan. 11:

• East Mesa Service Center, 6935 E. Decatur St.
• Solid Waste Division, 730 N. Mesa Dr.
• Superstition Springs Police/Fire Station, 2430 S. Ellsworth Road
• Mountain View Park, 845 N. Lindsay Road (enter off of Adobe St.)
• Dobson Ranch Park, 2363 S. Dobson Road

Green Waste Barrel Program – Residents participating in the Green Waste Barrel Program may place their trees inside their green barrel.  To ensure collection, the tree must fit completely inside the container with the lid properly closed.

Curbside Pickup – Curbside pickup of your Christmas tree is available for a nominal fee.  Simply call (480) 644-2688 for more details or to schedule a pickup time.

Salt River Landfill – Christmas trees may be taken directly to the Salt River Landfill, free of charge, with a current Arizona driver’s license anytime Monday through Saturday between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. during the month of January.   The Salt River Landfill is located at Gilbert Road and the Beeline Highway.

Live Christmas Tree Donation Program – The City of Mesa also accepts the donation of live potted Christmas trees, five feet or taller, for planting at City parks.  Residents may drop them off at any Mesa fire station.

The Christmas Tree Recycling Program is a joint partnership between the City of Mesa and Salt River Landfill.  If you have any questions, call the Mesa Recycling Hotline at (480) 644-2222.

Peoria – The Solid Waste Division will pick up Christmas Trees at curbside from Monday, Jan. 5, through Monday, Jan. 12. Residents must call the Solid Waste Division at 623-773-7431 or 623-773-7836 to schedule tree pickups. So that collections run smoothly, please do not bag trees and place trees at the curbside by 6:00 a.m. on the assigned day.

Phoenix – The city of Phoenix and A to Z Equipment Rentals & Sales will provide opportunities for residents to recycle Christmas trees.  Fourteen city parks will accept single trees from residents any time beginning Friday, Dec. 26, through Sunday, Jan. 4. Trees should be placed in designated areas where special collection bins are located, with all tree stands, lights and ornaments removed.  The Christmas tree drop off sites are:

North Phoenix

• Deer Valley Park, 19th Avenue and Utopia Road
• Sereno Park, 56th Street and Sweetwater Avenue
• Paradise Valley Park, 40th Street, south of Union Hills Drive
• Cactus Park, 38th Avenue and Cactus Road
• Mountain View Park, 7th Avenue south of Peoria Avenue

Central Phoenix

• Marivue Park, Osborn Road and 59th Avenue
• Washington Park, Maryland and 23rd avenues
• Madison Park, Glenrosa Avenue and 16th Street
• Los Olivos Park, Devonshire Avenue and 28th Street
• Desert West Park, Encanto Boulevard and 67th Avenue

South Phoenix

• El Reposo Park, 7th Street and Alta Vista Road
• Mountain Vista Park, 50th Street north of Ray Road
• Desert Foothills Park, Desert Foothills Parkway and Chandler Boulevard
• Cesar Chavez Park, 35th Avenue and Baseline Road

Single trees will be accepted at the city’s transfer stations at 3060 S. 27th Ave. (south of Lower Buckeye Road), and at 30205 N. Black Canyon Fwy. (exit I-17 at Dixileta Road). Sites are open 5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekends. The 27th Avenue site is closed Sundays. Both sites are closed New Years Day. The service is free to Phoenix residents.

A to Z Equipment Rentals & Sales also will accept trees at no charge from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 26 through Jan 5, except Sundays and Dec. 31 when stores will open 9 a.m. to noon. Stores are closed New Year’s Day. Phoenix stores are located at 4050 E. Indian School Rd. and 15634 N. 32 St.

For additional information, call 602-262-7251, e-mail pwserve@phoenix.gov, or visit phoenix.gov/publicworks.

Queen Creek – The Town is again offering residents a free Christmas tree recycling program. Residents participating in the Town‘s Christmas Tree Recycling Program will be offered three opportunities to drop off their trees. On each date, Town staff will be available to assist with unloading and disposal of the trees. Before depositing trees, all tree stands, lights, ornaments and other tree decorations must be removed.

In addition to clean trees, flocked trees (fake snow) are also accepted. Trees from fund-raising projects or commercial tree lots will not be accepted at the drop-off location.  Trees may be dropped off from 8 a.m.-noon on three consecutive Saturday mornings: Jan. 5, 12 and 19. This year’s drop off location will be on the southwest corner of Crewse Lane and Ellsworth Road. The site is just south of Town Hall. For more information about the program, call 480-358-3700.

Scottsdale — Scottsdale is offering both curbside collection and drop-of locations.

Curbside Collection – The City of Scottsdale will hold its annual citywide Christmas Tree Roundup the week of Monday December 29th, 2008 to Friday January 2nd, 2009. If you have residential collection services please have your Christmas tree curbside by 5:00am on the morning of December 29th. Please remove stands, lights and ornaments! No artificial trees will be collected!

Drop-Off Locations – On Saturday January 3rd from 7:00 AM to 2:00 PM. the City will be collecting Christmas trees from two park locations. If you missed the Christmas Tree Roundup or do not have residential collection services you can drop off your tree at either location listed below.

Scottsdale Ranch Park: 10400 E. Via Linda (North of 104th Street and Via Linda)

Eldorado Park: 2311 N. Miller Road (Southeast of Miller and Oak)

Surprise – The City of Surprise offers a Christmas Tree Drop-Off from December 26, 2008 through January 5, 2009. Please remove all decorations and place trees in designated areas only. Limit two trees per household.

• Gaines Park 15837 N. Nash Street at north end of the parking lot
• Surprise Recreation Complex 15795 N. Parkview Place across from Valley Vista High School

Tempe – Tempe residents have handy options for disposing of their Christmas trees – which should not be placed in garbage containers. Trees can be dropped off from 7 a.m. to noon on Fridays and from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays at the city’s Household Products Collection Center, 1320 E. University Dr. Additionally, trees can be dropped off at the parking lot west of Kiwanis Park Recreation Center, 6111 W. All-America Way, 24 hours, seven days a week. Both sites will accept trees through Jan. 20. The city also collects trees during normal monthly collection for brush and bulky items. Visit www.tempe.gov/recycling/uncontainedschedule.pdf to find out when your neighborhood is scheduled for monthly collection. For information, call 480-350-8265.

Here are two of my favorite things this year:  a quote and a song.  My wish is that they will find a place in your heart as well.

…and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God Bless Us, Every One!  

Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

This music is Carol of the Bells by the Trans Siberian Orchestra.  They come through town every year.  If you ever get the chance, I’d recommend seeing them.