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Communities, others ready to recycle your Christmas trees

As Michigan Christmas Tree Month draws to a close, it won’t be long before the trees will need to be disposed of.

Christmas tree recycling drop-off site in East Lansing, Mich.

Christmas tree recycling drop-off site in East Lansing. 

 

The good news is that more Michigan communities are offering Christmas tree and wreath recycling, which typically turn the trees into mulch.

Check with your municipality to see if they offer the service near you. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s Michigan Recycling Directory is also updated periodically and includes Christmas tree recycling locations. To find locations, enter “Christmas trees” in the search bar.

Some municipalities partner with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to help make rabbit/small game habitat out of the trees. Others feed the trees to sheep and other animals. For example, Delhi Township in Ingham County collects trees from Dec. 26 through January at its recycling center and feeds them to sheep.

Another use for the trees after the holidays is arranging them as habitat for wildlife, as this MI Environment story explains. EGLE’s storm debris use webpage has more photos.

Michigan ranks third in the nation for the number of Christmas trees harvested, supplying about 2 million fresh trees – with an annual net value of $30-40 million – to the national market each year, with an annual farm gate value of more than $40 million.

To honor Michigan’s Christmas tree industry, Governor Gretchen Whitmer has proclaimed December as Michigan Christmas Tree Month, a time set aside to recognize the vital economic, environmental, and social benefits of Michigan’s Christmas tree industry.