Life after Christmas: Recycle your tree

HARLINGEN - Christmas comes but once a year and with it the annual chore of chucking browning Christmas trees. Now residents in 22 Rio Grande Valley cities will have the option to make use of their fading firs.

Harlingen, San Benito, Raymondville, Port Isabel, Mercedes, Weslaco, Donna and Alamo are among the cities that will participate in the Valley Proud organization's Christmas Compost '09.

Composting is now done across the Rio Grande Valley as an alternative to collecting trees for dune restoration at South Padre Island.

Composting locations throughout the Valley began accepting natural Christmas trees Friday and will continue composting through Jan. 3. Trees must be free of decorations, including tinsel and flocking, Valley Proud officials said.

"Each tree that goes to composting every year saves a small but valuable space in our rapidly filling landfills," Valley Proud chairman James Matz said. "With landfill space at a premium and waste disposal rates going up, it makes good sense ... to compost used Christmas trees."
Officials at the Harlingen recycling center said trees left out on the curb are not only unsightly but also hazardous.

"If it's not the time for the city to go out and pick up the trees that week, they could dry up and even catch fire," a Harlingen Public Works official said.

Weslaco Area Chamber of Commerce CEO Martha Noell said the chamber's main goal in the project is to promote environmental awareness.

"This is our second year doing this," she said. "We're trying to encourage and educate the community about recycling and ways to save our environment."

Some cities will allow their residents to take mulch made from the pummeled pines.

"Hopefully we will have access to the mulch too," Noell said. "It's good mulch and it smells great."

Noell said residents of neighboring cities like Mercedes are welcome to take their Christmas trees in for composting as well.
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On The Web
A complete list of composting centers available at www.valleyproud.org.