SANTA ANA, Dec. 15, 2005 - The Christmas tree is the symbol of the holiday season for many people, and it can have a useful life once the ornaments are packed away.

Waste Management of Orange County provides our customers in Irvine, La Habra, Laguna Beach, Lake Forest, Mission Viejo, Newport Beach/Newport Coast, the City of Orange, Santa Ana, and a number of communities in unincorporated Orange County, the opportunity to recycle their trees after the holiday season at no extra charge.

Waste Management customers with curbside service can recycle their Christmas trees for free by placing the trees at the curb or in their greenwaste carts on their scheduled pick-up day – trees greater than six feet tall must be cut in half. Trees will be picked up for recycling during the two weeks following Christmas, beginning Dec. 26. Be sure to remove all decorations, including ornaments, tinsel, lights and the tree stand.

Trees collected in the curbside program will be mulched for reuse as alternative daily cover, which is the cover material placed on the active face of a landfill at the end of each day to protect against fires, odors, blowing litter and scavenging. Flocked trees cannot be recycled, but will be collected if they are placed at the curb. Please be sure to cut trees greater than six feet in length in half.

“Every year in California, more than 40,000 tons of Christmas trees require handling at the end of the holiday season. We recognize that these trees can be put to more creative uses than simply being piled whole into landfills,” said David Ross, Senior District Manager of Waste Management of Orange County. “If you have a live tree in your home, please recycle it when the holidays are over.”

During this period, bulky item collection – the scheduled retrieval of items such as furniture or appliances – will be suspended in order to devote resources to Christmas tree collection. Regular bulky item service will resume on Friday, Jan. 13, 2006.

For details on alternative tree recycling programs in Irvine, Laguna Beach, Mission Viejo and the City of Orange, please see the notes below.

Pick-up Schedule Unchanged During the Holidays

Because Christmas and New Year’s Day both fall on Sundays, Waste Management’s waste and recycling pick-up schedules will be unchanged during the holidays. This means there will be no delays in service for Waste Management of Orange County customers.

While our service schedules remain the same during the holidays, our customer service center will be closed on Monday, Dec. 26, and Monday, Jan. 2. During these two weeks, the customer service center is open Tuesday-Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon. Customer service is available at (714) 558-7761, (949) 642-1191 or (562) 694-3730.

Alternative Tree Recycling Programs

Irvine

Irvine residents who live in multi-family complexes with community waste service can take their trees to Sunset Environmental, located at 16122 Construction Circle West (near Jamboree and Barranca) in Irvine. Trees will be accepted December 26, 2005, through January 7, 2006. Residents can take their trees to Sunset during the following hours: Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Those dropping off trees will need to show proof of Irvine residency.

Laguna Beach

The City of Laguna Beach and Waste Management of Orange County are sponsoring a drop-off Christmas tree recycling program for residents of Laguna Beach from December 26, 2005, through January 8, 2006. Laguna Beach residents may take their trees to the Laguna Beach City Hall Employees’ Parking Lot located at the intersection of Laguna Canyon Road and Forest Avenue.

Mission Viejo

The City of Mission Viejo and Waste Management of Orange County are sponsoring a Christmas tree recycling program for Mission Viejo residents at two drop-off locations from December 26, 2005, through January 8, 2006. Mission Viejo residents may take their trees to one of the following locations:

• Youth Athletic Park – Olympiad between Marguerite Parkway and Melinda
• Norman P. Murray Community and Senior Center – 24932 Veterans Way (east end of the parking lot)

City of Orange

Orange residents who live in multi-family complexes with community waste service can take their trees to the Orange Transfer Station at 2050 N. Glassell. Trees will be accepted December 26, 2005, through January 7, 2006. Residents can take their trees to Orange Transfer during the following hours: Monday-Friday, 7a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Those dropping off trees will need to show proof of Orange residency.

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