Sustainable Seasons Greetings! Christmas Tree-cycling Returns to San Francisco Next Week

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  

DATE: 12/26/24
Contact: joseph.piasecki@sfgov.org

***PRESS RELEASE** 

Sustainable Seasons Greetings! 

Christmas Tree-cycling Returns to San Francisco Next Week

 For over 30 years, San Francisco Christmas trees have been collected and recycled in a safe and environmentally friendly way

San Francisco, CA – It’s time to turn the page on 2024 and prepare to say goodbye to our Christmas trees! With the beginning of the new year, a long-practiced holiday tradition of sustainable tree recycling returns to San Francisco. City officials from the San Francisco Environment Department (SFE) and San Francisco Public Works remind residents that Recology will collect their unadorned Christmas trees from January 2 to January 17, 2025. Recology will collect, chip, and grind the trees, and the recycled trees will be used in the compost process.  

"Christmas trees are the gift that keeps on giving," said Director of the San Francisco Environment Department Tyrone Jue. "They sequester carbon as they grow, bring warmth and joy into our homes during the holidays, and when we tree-cycle them, we help to restore soil health and support natural landscapes.”

Recycling your Christmas tree is easy. Between January 2 and January 17, place your tree next to your curbside collection bins the night before your scheduled collection day. Please position your tree so it can be easily spotted by the Recology crew exclusively collecting trees. It is very important to remove all decorations, tinsel, nails, stands, and lights – anything that had been added to the natural tree. Your tree must be as bare, empty, and natural as the day you purchased it! That way, there will be no contaminants in the compost. 

If your tree measures more than 6 feet tall, please cut it in half. Trees should not be placed in a plastic bag. Trees will be collected curbside by a separate truck on your regularly scheduled collection day. Natural wreaths can be collected as well, but all metal wires or frames must be removed. 

The collected Christmas trees will be transported to Recology’s Jepson Prairie Organics composting facility, near Vacaville. Recology workers will feed the trees into a large grinder. The smallest pieces of ground trees will be combined with other compostable material, such as food scraps, sticks, and leaves, and composted. Woody pieces of ground up Christmas trees will become part of the biofilter system at the composting facility.

“Christmas trees are an age-old tradition that symbolize joy, but once the trees come down after the holiday season, they should be disposed of properly, so they don't become a sidewalk hazard," said Public Works Director Carla Short. "The tree-cycle program helps keep our neighborhoods clean and safe. It keeps the trees out of the landfill by fully utilizing them in the composting process.”

“We collect nearly 300 tons of Christmas trees in San Francisco. Let’s send them to the composting facility for beneficial reuse. Please put your tree at the curb, next to your bins, on your scheduled collection day during the first two weeks of January. Recology will pick up your Christmas tree and make sure it gets recycled,” said Robert Reed, Spokesperson for Recology. 

The winter holidays are San Francisco's largest recycling weeks of the year. Christmas tree recycling helps keep San Francisco clean and green by reducing materials sent to landfill and preventing improper disposal and illegal dumping. 

It is also important for safety reasons to recycle your tree during the first two weeks of January.
 
"In just a few seconds, even a well-watered Christmas tree can catch fire and create a dangerous hazard,” said the San Francisco Fire Department. “By properly disposing of the trees, you remove this hazard. Be SFFD safe this Holiday season and properly dispose of your trees and other natural decorations."

The City also wants to remind residents to take extra care and properly sort their recyclables during the giving season. Utilize the blue recycling bin for all bottles, cans, paper, and other recyclables. Flatten all cardboard boxes to save space you will need in your recycling bin for extra material. Ribbons, twines, and Styrofoam packing cubes go in the landfill bin. Please visit SFRecycles for additional guidance to be better at the bin. 

Additional information is available online at www.Recology.com. Residents and businesses can contact Recology at CustomerService@RecologySF.com or call (415) 330- 1300.

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