Here are a few ways your real Christmas tree is used after the holiday
Imagine you have bought a live Christmas tree for the very first time. It is up in your home and fully decked out for the next couple of weeks as part of holiday celebrations.
As the holiday gets closer and closer, you start to wonder, "What am I going to do with this tree after the holiday?" Well, there are a few solutions: donating to the Missouri Department of Conservation for fish habitats, creating a brush pile for the winter as protection for animals or taking the tree to be mulched and composted.
Fish habitats
MDC in the Boone County/Columbia area last year took in roughly 200 to 300 Christmas trees that then went into area public lakes, including ones in parks in Columbia, said Terri Fike, MDC fisheries specialist.
"We will have a Christmas tree drop-off site here at our office in Columbia. We will probably start that after the new year. It will be within the first week of January," Fike said, adding that signs and cones will designate the drop-off area. The department plans to provide more information in a news release.
The Central Region office is at 3500 E. Gans Road, adjacent to the Gans Creek Recreation Area and near the Discovery Parkway exit on U.S. Highway 63.
Tree sinking locations in Columbia have included Stephens Lake Park, Perry Phillips Lake at A. Perry Phillips Park and Bethel Lake at Cosmo-Bethel Park.
"We have (trees) located where you can fish on them from the banks," Fike said. "At Stephens Lake, it is mainly around the island and walking dock."
Since there often are fishing clinics for youth at Cosmo-Bethel Park in the spring and summer, trees are often placed near the dam area of the lake, she added.
"You can still reach them from the fishing poles, from the bank," Fike said.
For those who may have deep enough ponds or lakes on their own private property, it is possible to sink a tree in those as well.
"What we do is we use a cable and cinderblocks. You could use chain or whatever. You anchor the trunk with a weight," Fike said, adding it's best to weigh a tree down in this manner as to allow the tree to stand vertically and branches to float. "That gives more vertical habitat. ... There will be different water temperatures throughout that column fish can use."
Animal habitats
As winter gets colder, even animals will need some safeguards. So, a person could create a brush pile prey animals, such as rabbits or squirrels, could use for warmth and safety,
You can add Christmas trees and other brush to the pile each year to provide cover for animals, wrote Brian Schweiss, University of Missouri Extension specialist. He previously was a forestry regional supervisor with MDC.
"That is where my trees go," he wrote, adding this usually works for those who live close to a wooded area or have a few acres of land.
For those who go with Christmas trees where the root ball still is intact, MDC recommends planting the tree outside after the holiday to add to a person's home landscaping.
Mulch and compost
People still also could put their trees through a wood chipper if they have a commercial model at home or they have a couple other options if Columbia residents.
Between Dec. 26 and Jan. 31, the city's trash utility will conduct curbside pick up of trees, even with some decorations still on them, that then will go to the landfill on regular trash days. Their decomposition "will assist in the generation of methane gas used to generate electricity," the city noted online. During this period, the tree is not counted as a bulky item.
After Jan. 31, trees must be cut down to fit into a trash or yard waste bag. The city still encourages the recycling of decorations where possible and the mulching of trees.
Trees and other yard waste are accepted for mulching or the city composting program at Parkside Drive or Capen Park. Trees also are accepted near the city landfill for the composting program at 5700 Peabody Road. Those seeking mulch can pick it up from dawn till dusk daily at Parkside Drive or Capen Park.
There is no charge for dropping off a tree at the yard waste or composting areas. The tree, or any other yard waste, can be taken to these locations any time throughout the year, the city said online.
This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: Here's what to do with your real Christmas tree after the holiday
