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Christmas tree recycling for free in St. Louis

Christmas trees on the curb in Washington, D.C. last year. St. Louis has a program for Christmas trees to be recycled instead of hitting the garbage dump. (Via Flickr/ brunosan)
Christmas trees on the curb in Washington, D.C. last year. St. Louis has a program for Christmas trees to be recycled instead of hitting the garbage dump. (Via Flickr/ brunosan)

The City of St. Louis is once again offering free Christmas tree recycling this year.

City residents can drop off their undecorated trees at Forest Park in the lower Muny parking lot, O'Fallon Park or Carondelet Park through January 14th.

Forestry Commissioner Greg Hayes says the trees are chipped into mulch and made available for free at the sites in January. He says the trees are recycled in other ways as well.

"Other people can use them to build fish habitats in ponds and lakes," Hayes says,  "Some people even decorate them with food for wildlife in rural areas. It's just a very sound practice to put something back in the environment at no cost."

The city recycles 16,000 to 18,000 trees per year.