Christmas Trees
Do not place Christmas trees in curbside recycling. Christmas trees can be recycled at a special collection program in your city, local farm or compost site.
Each year, 10 million Christmas trees end up in the landfill. Your tree does not belong in curbside recycling with your newspapers and bottles, but you can still recycle your tree. Many cities offer programs to turn your tree to mulch or wood chips. Contact your city service department or trash hauler for details.
Local farms will accept Christmas trees as animal feed. For the safety of the animals, all decorations, tinsel, ornaments and lights must be removed. On the east side, contact Kelly’s Working Well Farm in Chagrin Falls for donation details. Residents of Parma can drop off trees at Stearns Homestead in Parma (place undecorated trees in the front pasture along the fence).
[video] Parma farm wants your Christmas tree for goat food (WEWS TV-5, 12/27/17)
[article] Christmas trees make a good post-holiday snack for goats and sheep (cleveland.com, 12/26/2022)
Local compost and yard waste facilities in Cuyahoga County accept trees and yard waste for recycling. See a list of registered compost facilities.
Christmas trees can be recycled at select Lake Metroparks and Summit Metro Parks locations.
Artificial trees cannot be recycled. If they are no longer usable, they should be placed in the regular trash for disposal. If they are pre-lit, the light strings can be removed from the tree and recycled through a holiday lights recycling program.
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Looking to recycle, donate or dispose of other items? Use the dark blue 'What Do I Do With?' search bar at the top of every page of this website. Allow location services or use the city drop-down to find opportunities in your local area.