Many families use real Christmas trees as a decoration each year, a local solid waste director says don’t let tree disposal become an afterthought this holiday season.
Putnam County Solid Waste Director Doug Ashburn said live Christmas trees should be disposed of at a landfill or local chip-yard. Ashburn said properly disposing of Christmas trees is being a good steward of the local environment.
“It’s just a lot cleaner if you bring it to these locations and let us grind it up as opposed to putting it out in the woodline or on the roadside,” Ashburn said. “It’s just a lot cleaner and a lot healthier and a lot more aesthetic.”
Ashburn said it is important to remove Christmas lights and ornaments before bringing the tree for disposal. Ashburn said real Christmas trees are run through a tub-grinder, and then the chips of wood are repurposed.
“They get ground up, and we try to give the mulch away or use it for different stuff such as low spots or hills and stuff like that,” Ashburn said.
Ashburn said the Putnam County Landfill and Cookeville Chip Yard will give away the mulch to anyone who wants it.
“You just got to call and ask what day they are loading over at the city,” Ashburn said. “The people use it for their garden or in their yards, which is good for growing grass if you mix in some ashes with it.”
Ashburn also stressed the importance of properly recycling plastic Christmas Trees. Plastic can take over hundreds of years be broken down by the earth.