Your 5-Step Guide to Treecycling

Greenberg December 17, 2025 in News - 6 Minutes

After Christmas is over, the tree starts to look a little sad. How do you dispose of the tree without contributing to more landfilled waste? Christmas tree recycling, or treecycling, is the responsible way to dispose of cut live trees at the end of the holiday season.

Americans purchase 25 to 30 million real Christmas trees annually. Why not just have the trash haulers put it in the landfill? When Christmas trees decompose in landfills, they produce methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. According to the Carbon Trust, a single landfilled tree has a carbon footprint of 16kg CO2e, compared to just 3.5kg when properly recycled. That’s right, you can cut your tree’s environmental impact by 80% by taking the right steps.

1. Ask the Important Question

What happens next to my tree? The truth is that just because someone picks up your tree, it doesn’t mean it won’t end up in a landfill. Unless you ask before the tree leaves your property, how will you know for sure where it’s headed?

Plus, when you recycle your tree, you may actually get some freebies. In cities such as New York, Denver, and Austin, Christmas trees are mulched, and the resulting material is made available to the public free of charge. Your community may also offer the tree mulch to residents, saving you money on garden supplies in the spring.

2. Be Timely

Are you the neighbor who keeps the Christmas lights up until March? Christmas tree recycling programs run only last a few weeks into January, so plan on taking action immediately after the holiday.

If your curbside collection program accepts trees, it likely only does so for two or three weeks, because it often requires a separate truck to haul this bulky waste. Plus, many yard waste facilities are open for limited hours in January, because there isn’t a lot of yard waste to compost when trees are bare and snow is on the ground. If you’re late on recycling your tree, your curbside program may consider your tree to be “bulky waste” and require an extra fee.

A good rule of thumb is once you flip the calendar to January, start packing up the lights and ornaments and get your tree ready to recycle.

3. Flock Off

The value of recycling Christmas trees is that they are considered organic waste, which means they can be composted or mulched.

But the tree is only organic if you restore it to its original form. In other words, remove all the lights, ornaments, and tinsel. Another recycling nightmare is the “flocked” tree spray-painted white for a more “wintry” feel. Flocking pretty much guarantees that the tree will end up in the landfill, so consider this while you’re dreaming of a white Christmas.

If you’re recycling the tree with a curbside program, make sure it doesn’t block your other bins, because there are typically different trucks that haul each type of waste. Cutting larger trees in half will make them easier to transport.

4. Don’t Be Afraid to Spend

You may be asking yourself: “I’m doing a good thing for the environment, so why should I have to pay for it?” The answer is that it takes money to turn a Christmas tree into something usable, whether it’s mulch or compost. If you’re dealing with a recycler that isn’t paid by taxes, it’s only logical to pay for disposal.

Often, you can find Scout troops that will collect trees from your curb and take them to a recycler for you. Use Scouting America’s Local Council Locator to find your local council, then contact them to ask about troops running tree recycling. In most cases, this is a fundraiser for the troop, so the money you spend will support local youth programs.

If you are taking your tree to a yard waste facility, you will probably pay a fee based on weight. The posted rates are usually based on per-ton charges, so don’t be discouraged when you see “$20+.” Once your tree is weighed, it will likely cost less than $5 to recycle.

5. Recycle It Yourself

Can’t get your tree to the curb on time or just don’t want to pay fees? There are plenty of responsible ways to dispose of the tree on your own without a treecycling program.

Chop it into firewood and kindling. A standard noble fir tree can be turned into more than 13 pounds of firewood to keep you warm this winter. Just make sure you give it plenty of time to dry first (six months to a year, depending on climate) so that it burns cleaner.

Improve water quality. If you have a pond or other body of water on your property, tossing in your Christmas tree helps the fish by providing shelter and nutrients. Be sure to remove all ornaments and tinsel first. Many communities have drop-off locations near bodies of water for this purpose. The U.S. Forest Service uses recycled Christmas trees in National Forests to create fish habitats that provide spawning grounds, shelter from predators, and attract food sources.

Make your own mulch. Shake off the needles into your yard to use as mulch, then cut and grind the trunk, which can also be used for kindling.

Make rustic coasters. If you’re ready to get crafty, cut the trunk to make rustic coasters.

Create a backyard bird sanctuary. Place the Christmas tree in the garden or backyard and use it as a bird feeder and shelter. Strung popcorn or fresh orange slices will attract birds, and the branches provide refuge. Remove all decorations, hooks, and tinsel first.

Find Treecycling Programs Near You

Major City Programs

New York City: Mulchfest runs through mid-January with 75 drop-off sites across all five boroughs. Chipping Weekend lets you watch your tree get chipped and take home free mulch. Last year, New Yorkers recycled over 46,000 trees.

Denver: Treecycle accepts trees through January 31 at multiple drop-off locations. Trees are turned into mulch that’s available free to residents at the city’s spring Mulch Giveaway.

San Diego: The Christmas Tree Recycling Program runs from December 26 through mid-January with 16 drop-off locations. Residents can also use green organics bins for curbside recycling.

San Francisco Bay Area: Recology and Oakland Recycles offer free curbside pickup through mid-January. Cut trees to fit in your green compost cart or place them curbside during the collection event.

Central Texas: Texas Disposal Systems accepts unflocked trees free of charge at multiple locations from December 26 through January

31. Trees become organic mulch and compost available at Garden-Ville stores.

Editor’s Note: Originally published on Dec. 27, 2010, this article was updated in December 2025. Feature image courtesy of 8moments, Pixabay.

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