Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 27, 2011

CONTACT: Morgan Justice-Black
Cell: 619.890.4154
Email: mjusticeblack@cleansd.org

Don’t Forget to Recycle Your Holiday Tree!

San Diego County, CA – This holiday season I Love A Clean San Diego (ILACSD) and the County of San Diego have joined together to remind residents to recycle their holiday trees instead of sending them to a landfill. Throwing away your holiday tree needlessly wastes a natural resource and decreases the life of local landfills. Trees and other yard wastes can be easily made into compost and mulch which are then used to improve soil health at residences, public parks and local farms.

ILACSD and the County have made finding out how to recycle holiday trees convenient. Visit the County’s Recycling and Household Hazardous Waste database at www.wastefreesd.org or call 1-877-R-1-EARTH (1-877-713-2784) to learn how and where to recycle your holiday tree.

There are many ways to make your holidays more eco-friendly, like recycling wrapping paper and gift boxes, but often people forget that their tree can be recycled too! According to the National Christmas Tree Association, 25-30 million holiday trees are sold each year in the United States.

Most waste haulers offer special holiday tree recycling programs to pick up trees with yard waste on regular collection days. In addition to curbside pick-up, tree drop-off sites are located in the communities of Bonsall, Carlsbad, Chula Vista, Coronado, Crest, Del Mar, El Cajon, Escondido, Fallbrook, Imperial Beach, Jamul, Lakeside, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, National City, Poway, Ramona, San Marcos, Santee, Solana Beach, Valley Center, Vista and several communities in the City of San Diego.

I Love A Clean San Diego operates San Diego County’s official recycling website and call center which refers thousands of residents to the proper facilities to recycle or dispose of just about anything. From broken surfboards to wine corks, railroad ties to cooking oil, ILACSD’s One-Stop Recycling Resource makes recycling quick and convenient. San Diego County residents can go to: www.wastefreesd.org or call 1-877-R-1-EARTH to learn how to recycle their holiday trees as well as hundreds of other items.

A complete list of tree recycling locations is also available at www.wastefreesd.org or by calling 1-877-R-1-EARTH.

Before recycling your holiday tree, review this list of recycling tips to ensure that your tree is recycled properly:

• Trees taller than four feet should be cut in half.
• All tree stands, nails and tree decorations must be removed.
• Check with your local hauler to see if they accept flocked trees.

###