Recycle week: Give your holiday tree an afterlife

This week's eco-topic: Recycle

Sick of seeing plastic bottles in the black bin? Wish recycling was mandatory? Well, when it comes to holiday trees, it kinda is. Leaving those newly naked trees at the curb or in a street or alley is illegal, as per L.A. Municipal Code 57.21.06!

However, it is not illegal in West Hollywood, at least for the next couple of weeks. In fact, every little city in our L.A. area has  different rules, dates, times and locations for tree recycling. Can't they coordinate this stuff, at least this one time a year? L.A.'s Department of Public Works tried to -- and made this crazy chart here -- that's totally incomplete and inaccurate.

So, things being as they are, here's the info for L.A. and a few nearby cities:

Los Angeles: If you have the energy and tools to chop that tree up, then cut it into bits and throw it in your green yard trimmings container. The alternative is to take the tree to a drop-off site on Saturday, Jan. 5, and Sunday, Jan. 6, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

In fact, L.A. residents who drop off their trees will receive tree seedlings, energy-efficient CFL bulbs, while supplies last, courtesy of the L.A. Department of Water and Power, plus mulch coupons from the Department of Public Works Bureau of Sanitation.

Beverly Hills:  Just put the naked tree next to your trash bin on trash day. No specific dates or deadlines! It's always so simple for the rich folk.

Culver City: Drop off your trees at the northwest corner of Washington Boulevard and Centinela Avenue or the Culver City Fire Drill Yard at 9255 W. Jefferson Blvd., from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the weekends of Jan. 6-7 and Jan. 13-14. There's a third location, but Culver City's flier about this program is messed up, so I can read only about two of three locations, with a little help from Google.

Santa Monica: Take advantage of the "Park Your Tree" program. During the entire month of January, trees can be brought to four parks: Clover (25th and Ocean), Douglas (Chelsea and Wilshire), Christine Emerson Reed (Lincoln and California) and Los Amigos (5th and Hollister).

Alternatively, take your tree to the Santa Monica Transfer Station at 2401 Delaware Ave., Mon. - Fri., between 6 am and 2 pm. Make sure you do it this month, however; come Feb. 1, the parks will no longer collect trees, and the Transfer Station will start charging for tree drop-offs.

West Hollywood: If the deal is the same as last year, you should be able to put that tree -- sans decorations and base or plastic bag covering -- on the sidewalk on your regular trash day from Dec. 26 to Jan. 13.

Are the cities of L.A. County just bad at getting the word out about these programs? I don't know for certain, but those in other areas leave a lot to be desired too. I got a breathless press release from Zero Waste Communities of San Bernardino County about how it's encouraging people to recycle their trees, but the multi-city org doesn't actually offer any info to help its residents take that idea into action -- beyond a long phone list from which they can pick out their city's number and call for more info....

I'm dreaming of a unified tree recycling program for SoCal.

Images courtesy of the cities of L.A. and Santa Monica

Comments

[Bernard]

What the hell is a Holiday Tree?
What planet do you come from?

[Siel]

What if you like having a tree around during the holidays for decorative purposes but don't really celebrate xmas? In any case -- It's odd to me how some people -- like you -- get riled up about the oddest things. One Casey Spencer's comment about the same holiday vs. xmas tree issue isn't getting published due to the use of expletives (which I'm okay with, but the LAT is not). I'm of the opinion that you could find better things to get worked up about --

[Chris Harshman]

FYI, for Culver City residents in the Raintree complex, there's a white dumpster on site specifically for tree recycling. If you haven't seen it yet, check with security -- super convenient!