The Evergreen Sustainability Alliance wants to keep your Christmas tree out of the landfill, and all you have to do is bring it to one of two locations.
ESA partnered with LAM Tree Services to collect Christmas trees to turn them into mulch for the mountain community. ESA also is accepting block Styrofoam for recycling.
Each year, an estimated 25 to 30 million live Christmas trees are purchased in the United States, with millions ending up in landfills where they break down slowly, according to the Sierra Club.
On Jan. 8, volunteers gathered at the vacant lot where the McDonald’s used to be on Bergen Parkway to collect trees. Before noon, the group had already collected more than 20 trees, and in a typical year, ESA collects about 300 trees.
Alice DeBloois, an ESA board member, collected donations for the group.
“People bring their Christmas trees and give a donation if they can,” she said.
This was her first year volunteering at event. DeBloois saw people pull up in trucks, Subarus and even one family who walked with their tree half a mile from their home.
Mike Wells from Evergreen, who pulled up with a big tree in his truck, said he has utilized the program in the past. This year, Wells tried out the new location the group offered. He laughed as the Boy Scouts volunteering struggled to pull the tree out of his truck.
Reece Martin, 13, along with Reece Gill and Grace Gill volunteered at the event with Boy Scout Troop 737.
“We’re here collecting trees, and we’ll send them off to become wood chips,” Martin said. “I do this almost every year.”
DeBloois sees the effect this event has on the community and hopes to see it benefit the environment.
“We want to keep the trees out of the landfill,” she said.