Ornaments and decorations are getting packed away, but some families wonder what to do with their Christmas tree now that the holidays are over.
The Burlington County Commissioners are encouraging residents to bring their live Christmas trees to the Burlington County Resource Recovery Complex at 22000 Burlington-Columbus Road in Florence to be chipped and composted.
The County’s “Treecycle” service is offered at the complex Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 7 a.m. to noon.
The complex cannot recycle artificial, bagged or flocked trees. All stands, lights, tinsel, wires, ornaments and garland must also be removed.
Holiday lights should not be discarded in recycling cans but can also be brought to the Resource Recovery Complex to be recycled.
Burlington County Commissioner Deputy Director Tom Pullion said recycling your discarded tree and unwanted lights is an environmentally friendly way to start off the new year.
“With the holidays now over, many residents are now packing up their holiday decorations and taking down their trees,” said Pullion, the Board’s liaison to the Department of Solid Waste and Recycling. “We want to remind everyone that our County’s treecycling service is available free of charge. It’s a sustainable way to ring in 2022 and it also helps save money for our municipalities by reducing the amount of waste entering our landfill.”
Several municipalities also offer curbside collection and/or a drop off for discarded trees. Residents should contact their local town to verify when collections occur and any special requirements or restrictions.
Information about curbside tree collections is also available on the county’s Recycling Coach app. The free app has information about the County’s recycling program and accepted materials, as well as updates and alerts about collection schedules for each town and tips and advice about recycling.
The Recycling Coach app can be downloaded from iTunes or the GooglePlay app store.
For more information, call 609-499-1001, ext. 271 or 272 or email recycle@co.burlington.nj.us.
“Burlington County collects recycling in all 40 of our towns and we’re one of the only counties in New Jersey to provide this service free-of-charge. It is a proven property tax saver that we’re extremely proud of, but we need our residents to help out by taking the time to recycle the right materials properly,” Pullion said. “Downloading the Recycling Coach app is a great way to stay up to date with the recycling schedule and to understand exactly what can and cannot be recycled.”
Local curbside Christmas tree collection information (not all towns are listed and residents are encouraged to verify with local municipality):
Important
Trees are chipped into mulch, so only the “bare” tree can be recycled.
No flocked trees, no tree stands, bagged trees, lights, ornaments, garland or tinsel.
- Burlington Twp. – Trees (remove lights/ornaments) will be collected on a regular tree branch pickup schedule – call 609-239-5909 for dates.
- Cinnaminson – Set curbside starting Jan. 10. Remove all lights/decorations. No Tree Bags! Trees can also be dropped off at Public Works Convenience Center seven days a week. Questions call Public Works at 856-829-6703.
- Delran – Picked up in January until all are collected.
- Medford Twp. – Pickup begins on Jan. 24 and ends on Feb. 5. Place at curb on regular trash day or bring to the DPW yard during regular hours.
- Moorestown – set out on brush collection days.
- Mt. Laurel – Picked up curbside the whole month of January, no need to call.
- Palmyra – Picked up curbside. All ornaments, tinsel, lights, etc. must be removed and no stands will be accepted. Trees must be unbagged. Residents can also bring them to the public works yard on Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m.
- Shamong – Local boy scouts’ troop is doing a tree collection in January. Please contact the township directly for details.
- Tabernacle – Tree collection will begin the first week in January on resident’s trash day. All ornaments, lights, tinsel, stands, etc. must be removed. Trees must be unbagged.
