Help the environment by donating your live Christmas trees to these Onslow County locations
With Christmas now in the rearview mirror, it's time to get the house back in order, and that starts with getting rid of your live Christmas trees.
Although many live trees are likely drying out by now, they can still be beneficial to the environment and community. Now that the holiday is over, drop off/recycle your Christmas trees at one of these four places in Onslow County.
Onslow County Solid Waste
From Dec. 27 through Jan. 7, Onslow County Solid Waste and Landfill, located at 415 Meadowview Road in Jacksonville, will be accepting clean trees. The price will depend on the weight of the tree.
Two of the Onslow County Solid Waste convenience sites will also be accepting trees for $3. Those locations are at Midway Park, located at 122 Carver Drive in Jacksonville and Folkstone, located at 320 Old Folkstone Road in Holly Ridge.
The landfill is open Monday-Saturday from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the convenience sites are open Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For more information, call 910-989-2107 for the main landfill, 910-353-3980 for Midway Park or 910-327-2444 for Folkstone.
North Topsail Beach
Onslow County's local beaches can also benefit from recycled Christmas trees. The St. Regis Resort at North Topsail Beach will be collecting discarded trees to help with the dunes.
The Town of North Topsail Beach also posted on Facebook that local residents can drop off their undecorated trees at Public Works, located at 3315 Gray Street, between Dec. 26 and Jan. 11.
On Jan. 12, the town will hold a Grinding of the Trees and mulch will be available for pickup after this date.
Humphrey Farm
According to Humphrey Farm's Facebook page, the farm would love to have your discarded Christmas trees - the goats love them.
Residents can drop off their trees by the red ATM at the farm, located at 522 W Willis Landing Road in Hubert. Owner Barbara Humphrey commented on the Onslow County Government Facebook page that they will also share with the community who needs the trees as well.
The only thing they ask is that all decorations, tinsel and garland have been removed.
Possumwood Acres
According to Possumwood Acres' Facebook page, don't throw those Christmas trees to the curb, bring them to the sanctuary at 119 Doe Drive in Hubert.
All the sanctuary asks, is that the trees come stripped of lights, tinsel and ornaments in order to keep the animals safe. The trees are used to help insulate enclosures and act as enrichment. Screech Owls also love to roost in them.
The post added there's no need to call, just swing on by and they will take it off your hands.
Possumwood Acres is open Wednesday through Monday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Recycle on your own
According to a 2018 post by N.C. Cooperative Extension, there are many ways you can take the initiative to recycle your tree on your own.
For example, you can use a chipper for small limbs and add them to your compost pile or use them as mulch. If you don't have a chipper, you can cut branches off and place them on top of landscaped beds for mulch.
Additional uses include placing your tree in the back of your garden to use as a bird feeder and refuge or submerging your tree in a private fishpond. The tree creates “structure” in the pond and becomes a fish feeding refuge, the post explained.
Reporter Morgan Starling can be reached at mstarling@jdnews.com.
This article originally appeared on The Daily News: Help the environment by donating your live Christmas trees to these Onslow County locations
