SAN DIEGO — If you’ve been putting it off since Christmas, you still have time to recycle your Christmas tree as part of the 50th Annual City of San Diego’s Christmas Tree Recycling Program.
“You know, it’s kind of cool to think that our City leaders and people in the department thought about it 50 years ago in ‘73 that, ‘Hey, let's recycle Christmas trees,” said Public Information Officer José Ysea. “Over 2.5 million trees have been recycled from what we can calculate over those 50 years.”
It’s as easy as dropping it off at one of 16 drop off sites.. But, there are some rules to follow.
“The Christmas Tree Recycling Program runs from December 26 until January 23 and residents can drop off their Christmas trees during daytime hours or essentially from dawn until dusk at any of our 16 drop off sites,” said Derek Lam, Recycling Specialist with the City of San Diego. “We do accept regular trees and flocked trees as well. That’s that fake snow. But we do ask that residents please remove any tinsel or ornaments and if they do plan on bringing the Christmas tree in a plastic bag to also please remove that plastic bag and bring it home with them.”
But where do all those trees go after they’re dropped off? Well, they’re dropped off at the Miramar Landfill by the City and that’s where magic happens.
“Christmas trees are brought to the Miramar Greenery, where they are grinded down into a finer mulch-type product, and then those finer grounds are then mixed with other yard waste that is collected at the greenery as well as food scraps,” Lam added. “They’re covered and then they undergo a composting process where in the time span of about 60 days they turn into nutrient-rich compost.”
The best part? The compost and mulch are up for grabs. Even better? It’s for free.
“If you’re interested in coming to the greenery to pick up some of those free compost or mulch products, all you have to do is provide a proof of residence and then you can pick up two free cubic yards of compost or mulch for free from the greenery,” explained Lam. “That threshold actually resets every day so residents are welcome to revisit the greenery every day to actually pick up more if they would like to.”
“That’s the cool thing about the end product of this whole thing is that it does contribute toward the greenery program and the different products that we have like the mulch and compost that again are free to our City of San Diego residents,” Ysea told CBS 8.
Remember, this year you also have the option of composting your tree in your green bin. Just make sure to cut it into pieces so it’s able to fit inside the bin. Below are the 16 drop off sites available around the City of San Diego:
- Carmel Valley - Carmel Valley Recreation Center, 3777 Townsgate Drive (lower parking lot)
- Encanto - Cielo Drive at Woodman Street
- Golden Hill - Golden Hill Recreation Center, 2600 Golf Course Drive
- Logan Heights - Memorial Recreation Center, 2902 Marcy Ave.
- Mission Bay - SeaWorld Drive at Pacific Highway
- Mountain View - Ocean View Boulevard at 40th Street (north side)
- Oak Park - Chollas Lake, 6350 College Grove Drive (Gloria Mesa parking lot)
- Ocean Beach - Robb Field Recreation Center, 2525 Bacon St.
- Otay Mesa/Nestor - Montgomery Waller Community Park (lower parking lot, southeast corner of Palm Avenue and Beyer Boulevard)
- Pacific Beach - Kate Sessions Memorial Park, corner of Mount Soledad Road and Loring Street
- Rancho Bernardo - Rancho Bernardo Recreation Center, 18448 West Bernardo Drive
- Rancho Penasquitos - Canyonside Recreation Center, 12350 Black Mountain Road
- San Diego State University - Parking lot 17 off Alvarado Road
- Scripps Ranch - Scripps Ranch Recreation Center, 11454 Blue Cypress Drive
- Tierrasanta - Tierrasanta Community Park, 11220 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. (pool parking lot)
- University City - Standley Community Park (parking lot), 3585 Governor Drive