Recycle your Christmas tree at any of Delaware's 25 yard waste sites.

How to recycle your Christmas tree into rich soil

Jarek RutzHeadlines, Culture

Recycle your Christmas tree at any of Delaware's 25 yard waste sites.

Recycle your Christmas tree at any of Delaware’s 25 yard waste sites.

Stay in the holiday spirit this last week of 2022 and help conserve and improve Delaware’s soil by recycling your Christmas tree. 

The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) is asking First Staters to give their real trees to a yard waste recycling site rather than dumping them off in landfills. 

According to DNREC, 176,000 tons of grass, leaves, brush, trees and other lawn and landscape materials were recycled last year.

Recycling these scraps sequesters carbon that fertilizes the soil and helps it retain moisture, according to the department. 

Where to recycle your Christmas tree

State recycle sites

New Castle County has seven recycling sites, Kent County has three and Sussex County has fifteen. Click here to find one close to you. 

Depending on the site, tree recyclers might have to pay a fee, but many locations accept the trees at no cost. 

The period to recycle trees lasts from Dec. 26 to Jan. 28, 2023, but each site has its own schedule, so check ahead.  

DNREC is also sponsoring a free Christmas tree recycling event from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 7 at the Delaware Center for Horticulture (DCH). 

Volunteer opportunities are available at the family-friendly tree-shredding event as the Davey Tree team will be on hand to chip trees in a commercial chipper.

All woodchips produced from the event will be used in the DCH gardens, Shearman Street community garden, and public landscapes throughout Wilmington. 

DNREC requires any ropes, wires, stands, metal objects, fake snow, ornaments, or any other addition to be removed from the trees before recycling them. 

More information can be found at de.gov/yardwaste.

City of Wilmington

Wilmington will begin collecting discarded, real Christmas trees on regularly scheduled recycling days throughout the month of January.

Residents should place their trees at the curb for collection and remove any decorations, lights, or tree stands. Trees must be brought to the curb between 6 p.m. the day before collection and 4 a.m. the day of collection.

From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 7, city residents also have the option of taking their tree to the Delaware Center for Horticulture parking lot at 1810 North DuPont Street for its annual TreeCycle event.

Trees will be shredded for free courtesy of the Davey Tree Expert Company.

Follow this link for more information about trash and recycling in Wilmington.

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