Happy holidays, readers!

Now that you’re finished unwrapping those gifts, it’s time to start thinking about what to do with your Christmas tree. Whatever you do, don’t leave them on your curb – the city dumps them straight in the landfill, where the beautiful trees remain tree corpses forever. Or as the NLNA (Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association) brilliantly put it in their newsletter, “For the fifth year in a row, the City of Philadelphia will not be curbside collecting holiday trees for recycling. As a result, any trees left at the curb will go into landfills or incinerators, causing air and water pollution and contributing to global warming.” Kudos for the clarification. 🙂 Regardless of the location, make sure to remove all decorations and lights before you recycle the trees.

Here are the 2013-2014 Christmas Tree recycling options in Philadelphia:

Saturday, January 4th Treecycling:

• South Philly/Passyunk: Bring your tree (ornaments and lights removed) to Columbus Square Park (corner of S. 13th St and Reed St) between 10AM-4PM on Saturday, January 4th.  They are asking a $5 donation for the drop-off.
• Weccacoe Playground (400 block of Catharine St) 9 a.m. to Noon. Suggested donation $5/tree, $2/wreath.
• Whole Foods Market at 10th and South, 9 a.m to 4 p.m. Suggested donation $5/tree, $2/wreath.
• Bennett Compost customers (or by request) can leave their tree out for collection starting at 7 AM on Saturday, January 4th. They are charging $15 for the service – $5 goes to civic associations, and $10 is for the convenience that you won’t be lugging a huge tree around by yo’self. Contact Bennett before January 3rd if you’re interested.
• Northern Liberties: Bring your tree to Liberty Lands (3rd St side) on Saturday, January 4th between 10 AM – 4 PM. No’ Libers with questions, please email Lara Kelly at trash@nlna.org.
• University City: Bonus! You can recycle your electronics AND Christmas tree at the same time on Saturday, January 4th from 10 AM to 4 PM at Clarks Park located at 43^rd and Chester Streets for a $10 fee. Bring your electronics between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m, and note that TVs and computer monitors are $20. But at least ALL media data is destroyed, so you don’t have to worry about a hacker scouting your information afterwards like they do at Target.
• Kensington/ Fishtown: 9:30a-12:30p at Palmer Dog Depot
• West Center City: 10a – 4p at Markward Rec. Center

Sunday, January 5th Treecycling:

• Logan Square: 9:30a -12:30p at the former Boy Scouts building parking lot
• Fairmount/ Art Museum: 1p – 4p at 22nd and Brown Sts.
• Chestnut Hill: 9:30a – 12:30p at the Norwood Fontbonne School
• Mount Airy: 1p – 4p at Gabbie’s Garden
• East Falls: 12p – 4p at Ridge Ave and Scotts Lane

Philadelphia – Christmas Tree City Drop-Off Program:

Through January 18

From Jan. 6th to Jan. 18th, Philadelphia residents may drop off their undecorated trees at the Streets Department’s Sanitation Convenience Centers, open from 8 AM – 6 PM Monday – Saturday:

• 3033 S. 63rd St.
• Domino Lane at Umbria Street
• State Road at Ashburner Street

Updates: Marple Township trees (naked, without tinsel or ornaments) will be collected curbside. They’ll be picked up by a separate truck ongoing.

Newtown Township will be picked up & recycled from Monday, January 6th to Friday, January 17th, curbside & naked as well.

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Julie Hancher is Editor-in-Chief of Green Philly, sharing her expertise of all things sustainable in the city of brotherly love. She enjoys long walks in the park with local beer and greening her travels, cooking & cat, Sir Floofus Drake. View all posts by Julie Hancher