The City of San Diego’s Environmental Services Department is hosting its 42nd annual Christmas tree recycling program, which will run through Jan. 23. This year’s program offers 16 tree drop-off locations, available to city residents only, as well as curbside pickup for customers with curbside yard waste collection. “Christmas tree recycling is a great way for San Diegans to do their part to help the environment by extending the life of the Miramar landfill,” said Mario Sierra, director of the Environmental Services Department. “Organic materials like yard clippings and Christmas trees make up more than 20 percent of the material buried in the landfill. By recycling trees, residents help reduce the amount of material in the landfill and give holiday trees a new purpose as compost, mulch or wood chips.
 
Residents can recycle their Christmas trees seven days a week at no charge. Only “clean trees” are accepted – residents must remove all tree stands, lights, ornaments, tinsel and nonrecyclable materials and must not dump any other items at the locations. Trees from commercial tree lots or fundraising projects are not accepted at the drop-off locations. Instead, these trees can be dropped off anytime during regular business hours at the Miramar Greenery for a nominal fee. In addition to clean trees, flocked trees (those with fake snow) are also accepted. If you are transporting your Christmas tree in a plastic bag for drop-off, please be sure to remove the tree and take the bag with you. All trees will be recycled into high-quality mulch and compost. City residents can self-load mulch and up to two cubic yards of compost for free at the Miramar Greenery throughout the year. Curbside yard waste recycling customers can also recycle trees through the curbside collection program by placing trees at the curb with their regular yard waste recycling bin. Customers with automated greenery containers must cut up their clean trees into roughly three-foot pieces to fit easily inside their greenery container. Customers unable to cut their trees for manual collection or who cannot fit the trees into the green automated container should drop off their trees at any drop-off location. Curbside recycling program customers should remove all nonrecyclable materials before placing trees inside the automated bin or at the curb next to yard waste collection containers. The Miramar Greenery is located inside the Miramar Landfill, at 5180 Convoy St., just north of Highway 52. Hours of operation are Mondays through Fridays, 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Saturdays, Sundays and most holidays from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Additional information about the locations is available by calling Environmental Services Department Customer Service at (858) 694-7000. For information on mulch and compost produced at the Miramar Greenery, call the Miramar Landfill at (858) 492-6100.
The drop-off location list includes:
Carmel Valley: Carmel Valley Recreation Center, 3777 Townsgate Drive, lower parking lot;
Encanto: Cielo Drive at Woodman Street;
Golden Hill: Golden Hill recreation Center, 2600 Golf Course Drive;
La Jolla: Kate Sessions Memorial Park, Soledad Road and Loring Street;
Logan Heights: Memorial Recreation Center, 2902 Marcy Avenue;
Miramar: Miramar Landfill at Greenery, Convoy Street north of Highway 52;
Mission Bay: SeaWorld Drive at Pacific Highway;
Oak Park: Chollas Lake, 6350 College Grove Drive, in Gloria’s Mesa parking lot;
Ocean Beach: Robb Field Recreation Center, 2525 Bacon St.;
Otay Mesa/Nestor: Montgomery Waller Community Park (lower-west parking lot on Palm Avenue);
Rancho Bernardo: Rancho Bernardo Recreation Center, 18448 W. Bernardo Dr.;
Rancho Peñasquitos: Canyonside Recreation Center, 12350 Black Mountain Road;
San Diego State University: Parking Lot D off Alvarado Road;
Scripps Ranch: Scripps Ranch Recreation Center, 11454 Blue Cypress Drive;
Tierrasanta: De Portola Middle School, 11010 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.; and
University City: Swanson Pool, 3585 Governor Drive.