REMINDER: City Encourages Residents to Recycle Christmas Trees for Coastal Restoration

The City will continue its program of recycling Christmas trees in an effort to promote the restoration of Louisiana’s wetlands and to assist in the protection of the Louisiana coastline. Orleans Parish residents, eligible for collection by the City, are encouraged to recycle their Christmas trees by placing them curbside, before 5 a.m., on their regularly scheduled second collection day that occurs between Jan. 12-14, 2017 for properties served by Richard’s Disposal and Metro Services.

Only natural, unflocked trees that are free of all stands and trimming (all ornaments, tinsel, lights and tree stands must be removed by the citizens) can be recycled. Flocked, artificial trees, trees in bags or trees with trimming that has not been removed will be collected with garbage and transported to the landfill. Trees are not to be placed on the neutral grounds or in alleys as this delays the collection process.

The City’s Department of Sanitation along with its solid waste contractors Metro Services, Richard’s Disposal and Empire Services; the City’s Office of Resilience and Sustainability; and Leaaf Environmental are working together to collect, sort and bundle the trees, which will be placed in selected coastal zones.

This project is funded by the City’s Office of Resilience and Sustainability. In 2016, more than 6,000 Christmas trees were collected in Orleans Parish after the holidays and airlifted by the Louisiana National Guard into the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge as part of a program to create new marsh habitat.

Residents seeking more information should call NOLA 3-1-1.