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What to do with your Christmas tree
Christmas Tree
You can recycle your Christmas tree from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Jan. 6 at J.F. Gregory Park. - photo by Ted O'Neil

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree, time to haul you out the door.

If you bought a real tree for Christmas this year, that means you now have to figure out how to dispose of it.

One option is the city of Richmond Hill’s annual recycling program.

Known as “Bring one for the Chipper,” the drop off will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 6 at J.F. Gregory Park. The program is part of a statewide initiative by Keep Georgia Beautiful and the Georgia Forestry Commission.

Assistant City Manager Scott Allison said members of the city’s park and tree department will be there to turn the trees into mulch and give away seed packets for people to plant trees on their property.

The city uses the mulch for various parks projects and will make mulch available at Boles Park on Harris Trail for homeowners if enough trees are dropped off. Non-city residents can also participate in the recycling event.

Allison said trees should be completely free of tinsel and other decorations.

If you would rather reuse your tree for personal projects, there are several options.

One is to place it outside and hang bird feeders on it to create a bird sanctuary, including pine cones coated in peanut butter.

You can also cut the boughs off and use them to insulate perennials within flower beds or cut the trunk into two-inch disks to use as edging around landscaping. Thin slabs of the trunk can also be sanded and coated with polyurethane to use as coasters.

Or you can burn it, but only in an outdoor fire pit. Fire safety officials recommend not burning pine in an indoor fireplace due to a dangerous buildup of creosote.

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