Waste Management of North County

Contact: Sarah Huoh, Public Relations Manager
(714) 685-6487 / (949) 283-8486 (mobile)

Give Your Christmas Tree A Second Life
Waste Management Offers Christmas Tree Recycling; Hauler’s Collection Schedule Modified by One Day During Both Holiday Weeks

NORTH COUNTY, Dec. 15, 2006 - The Christmas tree is the symbol of the holiday season for many people, and it can have a useful life once the ornaments are packed away.

Coast Waste Management in Carlsbad and Waste Management of North County in Oceanside provide its customers the opportunity to recycle their trees after the holiday season at no extra charge.

Waste Management customers in North County can recycle their Christmas trees for free by placing the trees at the curb on their scheduled pick-up day. Trees will be picked up for recycling during the two weeks following Christmas, beginning Dec. 26. Be sure to remove all decorations, including ornaments, tinsel, lights and the tree stand; if the tree is taller than six feet, please cut it in half. Flocked trees cannot be recycled, but will be collected if cut into four-foot sections and placed into the regular trash can.

“Every year in California, more than 40,000 tons of Christmas trees require handling at the end of the holiday season. We have a number of opportunities to utilize the materials in the trees again,” said Ken Ryan, District Manager of Coast Waste Management and Waste Management of North County. “If you have a live tree in your home, please recycle it when the holidays are over. The trees can be made into a number of useful products, such as wood chips or mulch for gardens.”

Trees collected in the curbside program will either be mulched for reuse or utilized as “alternative daily cover” at local landfills (a layer placed on top of the active face of a landfill at the end of each day to protect against fires, odors, blowing litter and scavenging).

Pick-up Schedule Delayed by One Day During the Holidays

Because Christmas and New Year’s Day both fall on Mondays, Waste Management’s waste and recycling pick-up schedules will be delayed by one day during the weeks of Dec. 25, 2006, and Jan. 1, 2007.

This means customers in the following cities should place their bins out for pick-up one day later than usual during both weeks, beginning on Dec. 26 through Dec. 30, and also Jan. 2 through Jan. 6:

“Customers who usually receive service on Monday will instead receive it Tuesday, and so on throughout the remainder of the week, with Friday’s customers receiving service on Saturday,” said Ryan. “We appreciate our customers’ cooperation with the holiday schedule so that all of our employees can observe Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.”

All local Waste Management offices, recycling centers and the customer service center will be closed on Dec. 25 and Jan. 1, and will re-open for normal operations on the Tuesdays after both holidays.

Customer service regular hours are Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 8 to 11 a.m. at 1(800) DUMPSTER or (760) 929-9400.

Alternative Tree Recycling Programs

Christmas tree recycling will take place between Dec. 26 and Jan. 14 at the following drop-off locations:

Additional information can be found at http://www.carlsbadca.gov/waste/xmastree.html.

Christmas trees can be dropped off at the Waste Management Recycling Center at 2265 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Tuesday through Saturday between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. (the center is closed from 1:00 to 1:40 p.m. for lunch, so trees cannot be dropped of during this time).

Christmas trees can be dropped off in the bins staged at the following locations:

Waste Management is the leading provider of comprehensive waste and environmental services in North America. For more information about recycling, log onto http://northcounty.wm.com.