Here’s where you can recycle your Christmas tree and lights in Kansas City

Joseph Hernandez
·5 min read

With Christmas in the rearview mirror, the holiday decorations have to come down at some point, right?

If you’re looking to dispose of your tree or your lights, there are a few places around Kansas City where you can take them to be recycled. Just remember to remove your decorations from your tree.

Where can I recycle my Christmas tree?

Kansas City

KCMO residents can drop off their Christmas trees for a fee per tree at one of the city’s leaf and brush drop sites between Dec. 27 and Jan. 13:

  • 11660 N. Main St.

  • 1815 N. Chouteau Trafficway

  • 10301 Raytown Road

These sites are also accepting trees:

Missouri Organic Recycling, Inc: 7700 E. U.S. Highway 40 Suburban Lawn and Garden Yard Waste Recycling Center: 201 W. 139th St.

You can also leave your tree out on the curb for trash collection the week after Christmas.

Gladstone

Gladstone residents can take their trees to the Regional Brush and Yard Waste Recycle Facility at 4000 NE 76th St. in Gladstone. The site also accepts trees from Pleasant Valley, Liberty, Parkville and Lake Waukomis residents.

Lee’s Summit

If you are looking to drop your tree off in Lee’s Summit, you can go to Resource Recovery Park at 2011 SE Hamblen Rd. The site is open from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, and you can make an appointment from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Liberty

Liberty residents can recycle their trees until Jan. 20 at Bennett Park at 1100 Clayview Dr. Follow the signs to the designated recycling area, which will take you south of the baseball field.

Smithville

Smithville residents can recycle their trees at Little Platte Park in Smithville Lake at 16311 State Route DD until Jan. 31.

Johnson County

Johnson County’s Christmas tree drop-off is free and open to residents and non-residents from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. until Jan. 31.

The county is only accepting trees during this time and reminds people to remove ornaments and decorations from the tree.

These are the locations:

  • Theatre in the Park: 7710 Renner Rd.

  • Heritage Park Marina: 16240 Pflumm Rd.

  • Kill Creek Park: 11670 Homestead Lane

  • Shawnee Mission Park: 7900 Renner Rd.

Kansas City, Kansas

You can drop off your tree at any of these locations until Jan. 31:

  • Alvey Park: 4834 Metropolitan Ave.

  • City Park: 2601 Park Dr.

  • Stony Point Park, 531 N. 86th St.

  • Wyandotte County Park: 600 N. 126th St.

  • Missouri Organic, 1260 Alma St.

Leawood

These sites in Leawood are open for residents until Jan. 28, according to the Mid-America Regional Council:

Leawood City Park: 10601 Lee Blvd. Ironwoods Park: 14701 Mission Road Tomahawk Park: 3999 W. 119th St.

Lenexa

Residents can bring trees to Little Mill Creek North Park at W. 79th and Cottonwood streets. The site is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Jan. 10.

Local Boy Scout Troop 186 will also pickup trees for residents on Dec. 30-31 and Jan. 6-7. Residents are asked to sign up for a date using an online form and to place their tree on the curb by 9 a.m. on the day they select.

Merriam

Merriam residents can have their trees picked up for free by the city’s Public Works crews from Jan. 8-12 by placing their tree on the curb by 7 a.m. on your regularly scheduled trash pickup day.

Prairie Village

Prairie Village residents can use these sites to recycle their Christmas trees until Jan. 14:

Franklin Park: 4798 W. 88th St. Porter Park: 4601 Tomahawk Rd. Taliaferro Park: 2900 W. 79th St.

Olathe

Olathe residents can drop off their trees from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. until Dec. 31 at Olathe’s composting facility at 1100 N. Hedge Lane. There is no drop-off on Sunday, and you will need to show a valid Olathe ID.

Residents can also leave their trees on the curb on their respective trash pickup days.

Overland Park

Overland Park’s recycling centers are open until Jan. 9 for residents and non-residents:

  • Indian Creek Rec Center: 10308 Marty St., from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.

  • Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens: 8909 W. 179th St., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

  • Quivira Park: 11901 Quivira Rd., from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.

  • Young’s Park: 7701 Antioch Rd., from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Where can I recycle my Christmas lights in Kansas City?

Christmas lights contain recyclable materials, like plastic, glass and copper. The string can become tangled if you recycle it with your normal curbside recycling, which can damage the recycling center’s machines.

From now through Jan. 7, the Kansas City Zoo is recycling holiday lights. You can take them to the guest relations desk during regular zoo hours, which are 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily. The zoo will close at 2 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and will be closed on New Year’s Day.

If you’re a Johnson County resident, you can drop off your lights at the City of Olathe e-Waste Recycling Program anytime throughout the year. You’ll have to call 913-971-9311 to schedule a drop-off time.

You can also enter your zip code at recyclespot.org to find the nearest recycling center near you that accepts holiday lights. You will have to select an option that says the lights are broken or working, as that will give you different locations.