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Place your Christmas trees curbside, not in local parks

Posted at 6:35 PM, Jan 10, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-11 11:58:38-05

SALT LAKE CITY — It only took one day for twenty Christmas casualties to pile up at Cottonwood Ball Park, and Wasatch Front Waste & Recycling says this is a problem they see the entire month of January.

"It’s not efficient and it makes our parks look not pretty, obviously. It’s not a nice sight to come in and see all of these trees here," says Yael Johnson, customer service manager for Wasatch Front Waste and Recycling District.

Trailer drivers say it gives them more work and makes for a heavier load.

"If we’re doing Herriman or Emigration or Magna, we can’t come to Cottonwood Ball Park on 13th East, away from our designated route," said Rick Larrabee, special services for Wasatch Front Waste and Recycling District.

And they say these culprits are not setting a good example.

"And we get other people who say, we can throw our dishwasher and couches and loose garbage," Larrabee said, "because they think somebody else will pick it up."

The solution to this problem is simple: curbside Christmas tree collection.

"We go pick up tree routes the day after garbage day," said Larrabee, "so that makes it easier for us, so we can see the trees out in the yard."

Just make sure your holiday accessories are removed.

"Double check that there’s no lights, no ornaments," Johnson said, "That it’s free of anything on that tree."

Then your tree will be recycled, and possibly born again in the spring.

"We take it to the landfill," said Johnson. "They take it to do compost, and the landfill resells that."

Wasatch Front Waste & Recycling says if your tree is not picked up one week, be patient. They will collect your curbside tree as soon as possible during their 30 day program.