How to get rid of your Christmas tree? Recycle it

If you have a Christmas tree that’s losing its leaves, it’s time to let it go before it becomes dangerous.

Just about every year, says LA City Fire Chief Millage Peaks, somebody’s dried-out, brittle Christmas tree catches on fire.

“So it is very important that we stay vigilant, that we make sure that our trees are not allowed to dry out,” says Peaks. “And the way that you can tell if a tree is dry or not, you just run your fingers down the branches and if the leaves fall off of the branches, its time to say goodbye to that tree.”

City Councilman Tom LaBonge concedes that he and other officials deliver the same message every year: “You know, it’s like the coach used to say – Coach Davis used to tell us, ‘repetition LaBonge, the more we run practice, the better we are in the game’.”

To drive the point home, firefighters built a plywood room with three walls behind Fire Station Four downtown, placed a dry Christmas tree inside, and ignited it. In seconds, the flames engulfed it.

Fire Chief Peaks addressed the issue of Christmas tree disposal, too.

“We want you to store that tree in the garage,” says Peaks. “We don’t need you to store that tree close to your home. What we need you to do is what the mayor and Councilman LaBonge did.”

What Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and LaBonge did was saw a tree into three parts and stuff it into a green LA city recycling bin.

“Last year, we had about 100-thousand Christmas trees that we recycled. And this is part of the mayor’s goal to reach a 70 percent diversion out of landfills by 2013. And I’m happy to report mayor that we are on track,” says Cynthia Ruiz, president of the LA Board of Public Works.

Ruiz says that if you don’t want to cut up your own tree, you can just lean it against the green recycling bin on collection day, or you can tote it to one of 13 drop off sites on Jan. 2.

Complete information on how to recycle your Christmas tree, including drop-off locations, is on the City of Los Angeles website.