Bring One for the Chipper

​As we near the end of the holiday season, many people are ready to take down their ornaments and get rid of their tree. But wait! Before you toss that dying fir out with the garbage, have you considered recycling it? 

​Bring One for the Chipper is a nation-wide movement to recycle as many Christmas trees as possible. 

​Why should you recycle your Christmas tree? 

​Throughout the month of January, landfills are often overwhelmed with the number of Christmas trees they receive. As you can probably imagine, depending on the size and health of the tree at the time of disposal, those babies can take up a lot of room. Bring One for the Chipper’s mission is to reduce the number of trees that end up in our landfills, and help out the environment along the way!

What happens to recycled Christmas trees?

​Like the name suggests, most trees in the Bring One for the Chipper program go through a woodchipper. This generates mulch that can then be donated to places like public parks, public and private playgrounds, city scaping projects, and even individual yards.

​In some locations, a few trees will be saved from chipping to instead be sunk into local lakes. This creates new habitats for fish and other marine life to flourish!

​How can you recycle your Christmas tree?

​Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful is partnering once again with Bring One for the Chipper to make recycling your Christmas tree easier than ever. This year, the event kicks off at 9am on Saturday, January 8th. From 9am until 1pm, you can bring your undecorated tree to one of multiple drop-off locations:

• Clarke Middle School
• Sandy Creek Nature Center
• Chase Street Elementary

If January 8th isn’t a good day for you, never fear! Check out the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation’s list of statewide drop-off locations.

​Be sure to remove all ornaments, Christmas lights, and any other decorations from your tree before you bring it for chipping. This year, you can also drop off wreath metal and light strings to be recycled as well!

To learn more about this initiative and how you can participate, check out Keep Athens-Clarke County Beautiful. 

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Author

Emily Casuccio is sister and sister-in-law to Rebekah and Scott Rushing, and has over half a decade of experience in copywriting, copyediting, proofreading, and developmental storyboarding. She's worked with both published and undiscovered authors on both fiction and nonfiction, and takes pride in supporting local businesses. Her passion lies in the written word and helping authors of all capacities realize their dreams and achieve their fullest potential. To learn more about her, read samples of her work, or contact her, visit her online portfolio.

Sources:
Athens-Clarke County Unified Government
Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation