Chestermere residents can properly dispose of their real Christmas trees by dropping them off at John Peake Park recycle until the end of January.
Real trees can be dropped off at John Peake Park near the boat launch any time after the holidays between Dec. 26 and Jan. 29.
Residents are asked to remove all decorations including tinsel from the tree prior to dropping it off, and not to drop off fake trees or trees in plastic bags.
The city parks department is not accepting trees at the Community Operations and Eco Centre yard.
Recycling Christmas trees not only keeps them out of landfills, but it also helps in city-wide gardening projects, as the city parks department chips the recycled trees, and creates mulch.
“The trees are fed through our chipper and turned into mulch that is then used around the city in shrub beds. Mulch is also made available in small quantities for residents to pick up at the Eco Centre during the summer months. Mulch is used to retain moisture and reduce weed growth,” Parks Coordinator, Alison Ciupa said. “Keeping Christmas trees out of the waste stream by recycling them into mulch is better for the environment. Many Christmas trees come from tree farms, so it is a more sustainable process from start to finish.”
