Science & Nature
From Goat Food to Fish Cribs, Give Your Live Christmas Tree a Second Life by Recycling
Give real Christmas trees a second life by recycling them. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)
What goes up must come down, and that applies to Christmas trees, too.
It’s time to un-deck those “live” balsams, Fraser firs and pines. But instead of sending old Tannenbaum off to a landfill, there are plenty of recycling options that will return real trees’ organic benefits back into the ecosystem.
In fact, the possibilities for a Christmas tree’s afterlife might be even more interesting than its decorative use, whether it ends up as goat food, fish habitat or garden mulch.
Note: In all cases, recycled trees should be free of ornaments, lights, tinsel, stands, etc. Any plastic bags used for transport should also be removed. Flocked trees (tips painted white) aren’t accepted, and neither are wreaths or garland.
Here are some ways to recycle.
Mulch It
Video: A live Christmas tree is dropped off at a Chicago Park District collection site in 2023. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)
The Chicago Park District, in partnership with the Department of Streets and Sanitation, is collecting live trees at 27 locations across the city, through Jan. 25. The trees will be mulched, and Chicagoans can take some of the wood chips home for their own use. Beginning Jan. 13, free mulch will be available at six of the collection sites. Click here for details.
Likewise, the Lake County Forest Preserves is accepting trees at eight sites through Feb. 1. The majority of trees are mulched for use on trails.
Give It to the Goats
Goats at Urban Growers Collective love to gnaw on tree bark, according to staff. (Courtesy of Urban Growers Collective)
Urban Growers Collective is continuing its tradition of recycling trees by feeding them to the nonprofit’s herd of goats.
Drop-offs are still being accepted through Jan. 11 at the collective’s South Chicago Farm, 9001 S. Mackinaw Ave. (entrance on 90th Street), 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Go Fish
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources submerges trees in select lakes to provide habitat for fish. (Courtesy Illinois Department of Natural Resources)
Lake County also uses some of its collected trees to create “fish cribs,” and so does the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (though IDNR doesn’t have any drop-off sites in northeast Illinois).
Trees are tied together and weighted with objects like cinderblocks. Then they’re submerged in larger lakes — particularly those created from former quarries — where they provide much needed habitat for fish.
According to IDNR, trees provide cover for small fish and create places for algae to grow. Aquatic insects feed on the algae and also attract larger fish, which in turn can be caught by anglers.
That’s quite the circle of life for a Christmas tree.
DIY at Home
It might seem tempting, but evergreens should never be burned in a fireplace, according to Spencer Campbell, plant clinic manager at Morton Arboretum.
There are ways to make use of real trees at home, though, he said.
People can prune the branches off their Christmas tree and lay them over garden beds as insulation. This is most useful in full-sun beds, according to the arboretum, as it will keep plants from emerging prematurely during winter warm spells.
“If space permits — and neighbors don’t mind — leave the tree in your backyard to provide shelter for birds and other animals during winter,” Campbell said.
Contact Patty Wetli: @pattywetli | (773) 509-5623 | [email protected]
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