The annual Christmas tree recycling initiative by UC Green received a great response from the community this year. Residents brought more than 400 Christmas trees to Clark Park on January 5, the University City District reports. Residents also donated money to UC Green, which turned the collected trees into wood chips that will be used in the neighborhood’s community gardens. On the same day, eForce Compliance collected nearly 11,000 pounds of used electronics from local residents, which will also be recycled or disposed of in an environmentally-safe manner.

One of other ways to help UC Green, a local non-profit that works on community greening projects, is to buy their firewood, all local and all split by volunteers, currently available at Mariposa Food Co-op (49th & Baltimore).

Photo courtesy UCD.

Happy New Year, everyone! Now many of you will start thinking about what to do with your Christmas tree. Of course, you can just take it outside on your trash pick-up day and it will be collected by the city. But, if you want to get rid of your tree in a more eco-friendly way, here are some options.

– Christmas Tree and Electronics Recycling Day – Saturday, Jan. 5

Bring your tree to Clark Park (43rd & Chester) on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and it will be turned into wood chips instead of landfill. The mulch produced from the recycled trees will be used in neighborhood parks and gardens. Suggested donation is $10 per tree which will go to support UC Green and its neighborhood greening efforts. For more information, please contact Sue MacQueen at 215-573-4684 or suemacqueen@ucgreen.org.

You can also drop off your used household electronics, including computers and anything else with a plug! This is a great opportunity to safely dispose of any potentially harmful materials. For more information, contact Seth Budick at 215-243-0555 or seth@universitycity.org. 

– If you want to keep your tree a little longer please keep in mind that the Streets Department starts accepting trees for composting and mulching beginning Monday, Jan. 7. You can drop off your tree at one of sanitation convenience centers through Saturday, Jan. 19. The Southwest Philadelphia Sanitation Convenience Center is located at 3033 S. 63rd St., near Passyunk Ave. For more information call 215-685-4290 or visit this page.

The Philadelphia Recycling Office sends a reminder of importance of recycling this holiday season and urges residents to recycle their holiday gift packaging and party supplies. It is also an easy way to rack up more Philadelphia Recycling Rewards points that can be redeemed for holiday gifts and store discounts.

“The Philadelphia Streets Department and Recycling Office invites residents to recycle all of their holiday packaging this year and help divert more waste from our City’s landfills,” said Philadelphia Streets Commissioner Clarena I.W. Tolson.

A variety of holiday items or packaging can be recycled, including wrapping paper, paper and cardboard boxes, paper shopping bags and plastic packaging. Also, don’t forget to recycle year round items, such as cartons, glass bottles and aluminum cans. For a full list of recyclable materials, please visit www.philadelphiastreets.com/holidayrecycling.aspx.

The City of Philadelphia will also hold its Christmas Tree Recycling Program again this year, in which residents can drop off their trees for composting and mulching. The Streets Department will be accepting Christmas trees at sanitation convenience centers from Monday, January 7, 2013 through Saturday, January 19, 2013. Last year, nearly 22 tons of trees were collected through the program, which translates into 1,757 trees.

In addition to the Streets Department Christmas Tree Recycling Program, there are several other Christmas tree programs being offered by partner organizations. We’ll post more information about other ways to recycle your trees in West Philadelphia very soon.

Here are some more details on how you can recycle your Christmas tree.

Option 1:  From Tuesday, Jan. 3 through Saturday, Jan. 14 West Philly residents can drop off their tree at the Sanitation Convenience Center located at 3033 S. 63rd Street. The center is open Monday through Saturday 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Christmas trees brought to the site should be free of all decorations and ornaments, untied and free of plastic bags or wrappings. For more information call (215) 685-4290, 01.

Option 2:  You can bring your tree to Bartram’s Garden (54th St. and Lindbergh Blvd.) on Saturday, Jan. 7 from 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. during Christmas Tree-Cycling & Coat Drive. Your tree will be recycled into wood chips. $5 donation requested. All decorations must be removed. No early drop-offs, please. Also, gently used coats will be collected for donation to Feel The Warmth.

Option 3:  Also on Saturday (Jan 7) UC Green will set up a Christmas tree collection station at Clark Park (43rd & Chester). Bring your tree along with a $5 donation between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The collected trees will be recycled into wood chips for Farm 51 and the Holly Street garden. Also at the same time and place, UC District is collecting used electronics for recycling, so if you have anything with a plug you want to dispose of, please bring it in.

This week trash and recycling collections will be delayed one day, as the Philadelphia Streets Department reports on its Facebook page. Those whose trash pickup day is Monday should set out their trash and recycling containers tonight. By the way, did you know that you can now recycle carton containers? So don’t forget to put your milk, juice, eggnog, wine, soup and other carton containers together with other recyclables from now on.

Holidays are not over yet for many, but we would like to give you a heads up on Christmas tree recycling opportunities in the neighborhood. The Philadelphia Streets Department will open three locations (closest is on S. 63rd Street) in the city for Christmas tree recycling from January 3 – 14. We’ll post more information on that early next week. You can also check the Streets Dept.’s website for details.

If you want a closer location and don’t mind keeping your tree a little longer you can bring it to Clark Park (43rd & Chester) on January 7 between 10 a.m and 4 p.m. UC Green is organizing this event and we’ll provide more information on it next week.

Just a reminder as trees start to pile up curbside. If you want to recycle your tree, a couple of options are available. See our previous story here for more details.