Christmas Tree Recycling

RIVERSIDE – Starting Saturday and continuing for three weeks, the city and county of Riverside will collect Christmas trees for recycling.

Collection will take place on the same day as usual green waste pickups, according to officials.

The trees must be without decorations, be cut into four-foot-long sections and be piled next to the green waste bins.

Flocked Christmas trees cannot be recycled, said county officials, so these must go into non-recyclable-trash bins.

The recycled trees will be turned into mulch and compost, according to Kathleen Utter, a recycling specialist for the County of Riverside.

“Trees that are not recycled take up valuable space in landfills,” she said.

The following drop-off locations will be accepting trees and recycling them:

— A. Lua Wood Recycling, 18938 Mermack Ave., Lake Elsinore;

— B.P. John Recycling, 28700 Matthews Rd., Romoland;

— Badlands Landfill, 31125 Ironwood Ave., Moreno Valley;

— California Biomass, 83-109 Avenue 62, Thermal;

— Coachella Valley Compost Facility, 87-011 Landfill Rd., Indio;

— Lamb Canyon Landfill, 16411 Lamb Canyon Rd., Beaumont;

— Burrtec Recycling, 41-800 Corporate Way, Palm Desert;

— Robert A. Nelson Transfer Station, 1830 Agua Mansa Rd., Riverside (will accept trees from City of Riverside residents for free);

— Southern California Recyclers, 29-250 Rios del Sol, Thousand Palms.