Done with your Christmas tree? Here’s where you can recycle it

When Christmas Day comes and goes, so must the Christmas trees.

“When (people) are done with them, they often question ‘how do we get rid of the trees?’ ” said Sedgwick County Environmental Resources director Susan Erlenwein. “The county has an option for them besides just sticking them out next to the trash can.”

The department offers 22 places around the county for residents to recycle their trees. Ten of them are within Wichita city limits, and 12 are in smaller cities.

The county parks department grinds the trees up into chips. The mulch is free and available for pickup at each site.

The sites, which open on Thursday, will accept trees until Jan. 23.

“We always open the sites prior to Christmas, because we know some people leave town and want to get rid of the tree earlier,” Erlenwein said.

Sedgwick County has provided this service since 2001. Erlenwein said they recycle, on average, about 5,000 Christmas trees a year, although last year it was about 4,000 trees.

“I talked to some of the vendors who sell trees,” Erlenwein said. “They have seen a decline, so they have cut back on the number of real trees that they order.”

Residents should remove all ornaments or additions to trees before trying to recycle them.

“You’d be surprised how many we get with the bulbs and lights still on them,” Erlenwein said.

Here’s a list of sites in Sedgwick County where you can recycle your trees. Other small cities, such as Haysville, may have their own drop-off sites.

In Wichita

▪ Boston Park, 6655 E. Zimmerly

▪ Buffalo Park, 10209 Hardtner

▪ College Hill United Methodist Church, First and Erie

▪ Earhart Environmental Magnet School, 4401 N. Arkansas

▪ Edgemoor Park, 5815 E. Ninth St.

▪ Extension Education Center, 7001 W. 21st St.

▪ Great Plains Nature Center, 6232 E. 29th St. North

▪ Old Cowtown Museum, 1865 Museum Blvd.

▪ Osage Park, 2121 W. 31st St. South

▪ South Linwood Park, Hydraulic and Mt. Vernon

Outside Wichita

▪ Cheney: East South Avenue and Garfield

▪ Clearwater: Aquatic Center Parking Lot

▪ Colwich: 115 N. Third St.

▪ Derby: 2801 E. James

▪ Garden Plain: At the Water Tower

▪ Goddard: Means Park

▪ Kechi: 107 Sioux

▪ Maize: 201 S. Park

▪ Mount Hope: 400 S. Thomas

▪ Mulvane: 117 E. Main

▪ Park City: 6801 N. Hydraulic

▪ Valley Center: Veterans Park

Erlenwein said the sites that see the most recycled trees are the Extension Education Center, Boston Park, the Great Plains Nature Center and Buffalo Park.

You can call Sedgwick County Environmental Resources at 316-660-7200 if you have questions.

This story was originally published December 21, 2016 at 1:47 PM with the headline "Done with your Christmas tree? Here’s where you can recycle it."