By Paul Thompson
Northeast News

Area residents can give their Christmas tree a second life this year by recycling them after the holidays.

Christmas trees are banned from Missouri landfills, but there are many locations throughout Kansas City where trees can be recycled.

“All residents in the Kansas City metro area have multiple options for recycling their natural holiday trees and greenery,” said Matt Riggs, outreach coordinator for the Mid-America Regional Council Solid Waste Management District. “Residents should contact their trash hauler first to see if they provide curbside pickup, since that is most convenient. If not, there are lots of other options across the metro.”

The recycled trees can be ground down for use on trail surfaces, erosion control, landscaping, and fish habitat in local lakes. For Northeast residents, the closest option is at Missouri Organic Recycling (181 N. Chouteau Trafficway, KCMO). Office Manager Jessica Barnett explained how the organization’s recycling process works.

“They go through a grinder, and then the grinder feeds it into a screener that separates the sizes,” Barnett said. “The bigger sizes are for our mulch sales, and the smaller sizes are for composting. It gets mixed with our food waste.”

Barnett added that all Kansas City, Missouri residents can drop off their Christmas trees for free on Saturday, December 29, or any subsequent Saturday through January 13 with proof of residency. If that doesn’t work, trees can be dropped off during business hours on any other day for a $3 fee.

Holiday lights can also be recycled through January 12, 2018 at locations throughout the city. For Northeast residents, the closest location is at the Westlake ACE Hardware store at 6201 Independence Avenue.

In related news, trash and recycling collection will be pushed back a day following the Christmas and New Year’s holiday over the coming two weeks. Additionally, during the week of December 26-30, residents can set out more than two bags of trash without purchasing tags for the extra bags.

For more ways to reduce, reuse and recycle for the holidays, visit RecycleSpot.org or call 816-474-8326.