Tampa Bay, Christmas is over. Here’s how to throw out your tree.
If you’re the type who starts hunting evergreens as soon as you’ve emerged from your Thanksgiving food coma, that beautiful Christmas tree you picked out a month ago might be looking a bit Charlie Brown-ish by now. And even if you’re a live-tree lover who waits until mid-December with designs to leave it up through New Year’s Day or Epiphany, it’s probably time to think about when to dispose of the Fraser fir in the corner of your living room.
With the New Year bearing down, cities and counties across Tampa Bay are releasing guidelines on how to trash your trees. One rule they all share: Take off your lights, your ornaments, your toppers and stands before disposing of the tree.
Shed a tear for the end of the holiday season, then read on to find out the options for your neck of the woods.
Clearwater
Residents in single-family homes should place the trees, whole, on the curb on their regular yard-waste collection day. There’s no set end date on tree collection and no quantity limit.
Residents in apartment buildings or condos should check with their property management company or homeowners’ association for instructions on tree disposal.
Hillsborough County
The county will pick up trees on the curbside on regular yard waste collection days. Trees should be cut into sections up to four feet long and six inches in diameter. Yard waste won’t be collected on New Year’s Day; for households where the scheduled collection day falls on Jan. 1, waste will be picked up on the next scheduled day.
Trees can also be dropped off at two county yard waste processing facilities: one at 13000 U.S. 41 in Gibsonton, the other at 8001 W. Linebaugh Ave. in Tampa. Those facilities will be closed on New Year’s Day.
Pasco County
There’s no curbside pickup program for Christmas trees in Pasco, but residents have drop-off options at both ends of the county. One is Wesley Chapel District Park at 7727 Boyette Road; the other is Veterans Memorial Park at 14333 Hicks Road in Hudson. Both are open through Jan. 11.
Pinellas County
Pinellas County provides an online search tool, called Where Does It Go? , for residents to figure out where to dispose of different kinds of solid waste, including Christmas trees. It links to curbside tree pickup instructions for 18 cities, a few of which also have drop-off options. Residents who live in unincorporated parts of the county can see whether their waste hauler offers curbside pickup.
Those who don’t have a curbside option, or who miss their window, can take their tree to one of several yard-waste facilities listed on the page, including the Pinellas County Solid Waste Disposal Complex at 3095 114th Ave. N., St. Petersburg.
And those in apartments or condos should consult their property managers or homeowners’ associations for guidance on tree disposal.
St. Petersburg
A city-wide collection of trees is scheduled for Jan. 14. Once decorations are removed, trees should be placed at the usual trash pickup spot — on the curb or in the alley — by 7 a.m. Residents in condos and apartment buildings should ask their property managers for disposal instructions.
Trees can also be dropped off at any of the city’s five brush sites, which are open 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. every day except Jan. 1. They’re located at:
1000 62nd Ave. NE
7750 26th Ave. N.
2500 26th Ave. S.
4015 Dr. Martin Luther King St. S.
2453 20th Ave. N.
Tampa
The city will collect Christmas trees curbside, at no extra cost, beginning on Jan. 3. Tree limbs must be cut into bundles up to four feet long and put out on the regularly scheduled yard waste collection day. Any lights or decorations being thrown away should be put in the trash. Tree collection runs through Jan. 13.
