ADA COUNTY, Idaho — If you still haven’t gotten rid of your Christmas tree from the holidays, this is the week to do it. Many cities are offering curbside pickup of Christmas trees, provided they're chopped into smaller pieces. Additionally, the Ada County Landfill accepts full trees for free.
For neighbors in Boise, your live tree — rid of any decorations — can go into your curbside compost bin to be turned into compost.
WATCH | Find out how and where to dispose of your Christmas tree—
“We like live trees just because they smell good, it’s more natural, it’s more Christmasy,” said Craig Smith, who drove his family’s tree from Eagle to be recycled.
He was one of the first people to drop their tree off at the Ada County Landfill. So far this year, they've only seen a few dozen trees, but they expect that number to jump into the thousands by mid-January.
“Look at how many trees are sold for Christmas — lots and lots of trees — and I think if they can go to do something beneficial afterwards, it’s a good thing,” Smith said.
Most of the Christmas trees collected are either made into compost or mulch to be reused.
“Last year we had about 200 tons of Christmas trees that came up here,” said Rebecca Weeks with the Ada County Landfill.
Weeks explained that the free program helps keep trees from ending up mixed in with trash.
“If we didn’t have this wood waste program, then it would go into the landfill where it would rot, decompose, and create methane gases,” she said.
Meridian residents can drop trees off at the Meridian Transfer Station or have them collected curbside this week. Anyone in Ada County can drop off their tree at the landfill.
“The most important thing is to make sure your tree does not have the tree stand on it, or the lights, or the ornaments, or the tinsel, or anything that should not be composted or mulched,” Weeks added.
The free Christmas tree drop-off program runs through Jan. 10 at the Ada County Landfill.
