Soon, ornaments and decorations will be taken down and put away, and some families will wonder what to do with their Christmas tree now that the holidays are over.
The Burlington County Commissioners are encouraging residents to bring their live Christmas trees to the Burlington County Resource Recovery Complex at 2200 Burlington-Columbus Road to be chipped and composted.
The County’s free “Treecycle” service is offered at the complex Monday through Friday from 7 AM to 5 PM and Saturdays from 7 AM to noon for live trees only.
The complex cannot recycle artificial, bagged or flocked trees. All stands, lights, tinsel, wires, ornaments and garland must be removed.
Holiday lights can be recycled but should not be discarded in recycling cans. They can also be brought to the Resource Recovery Complex to be recycled.
Burlington County Commissioner Tom Pullion said recycling your tree and unwanted lights is an environmentally friendly way to start off the new year.
“With the holidays just ending, many residents will be packing up their decorations and taking down their trees,” said Pullion, the liaison to the Department of Solid Waste and Recycling. “We want to remind everyone that our County’s treecycling service is available free of charge. It’s a sustainable way to ring in 2025 and it also helps save money for our municipalities by reducing the amount of waste entering our landfill.”
More than 80 million pounds of recyclables have been collected in Burlington County this year through Nov. 30, saving towns a combined $3.9 million in landfill waste fees.
Several municipalities also offer curbside collection and/or a drop off for discarded trees. Residents should contact their town to verify when collections occur and learn about any special requirements or restrictions.
Information about curbside tree collections is also available on the county’s Recycling Coach app. The free app has information about the County’s recycling program and accepted materials, as well as updates and alerts about collection schedules for each town and tips and advice about recycling.
The Recycling Coach app can be downloaded from Apple or the GooglePlay app store.
For more information, call 609-499-1001 or email recycle@co.burlington.nj.us .
“Burlington County collects recycling in all 40 of our towns and we’re one of the only counties in New Jersey to provide this service free-of-charge. It is a proven property tax saver that we’re extremely proud of, but we need our residents to help by taking the time to recycle the right materials properly,” Pullion said. “Downloading the Recycling Coach app is a great way to stay up to date with the recycling schedule and to understand exactly what can and cannot be recycled.”
Local curbside Christmas tree collection information is as follows (not all towns are listed and residents are encouraged to verify with local municipality):