HOLIDAY TREE RECYCLING

Manitowoc County residents and businesses may drop off their natural holiday trees at the Basswood Compost Site from 7am to 4pm Monday through Friday, and Saturdays from 8am - noon.  Please remove all ornaments, tinsel, lights, stands and storage bags from trees before dropping off.  If your tree is more than 6 feet long, please cut it in half.

According to the National Christmas Tree Association around 29 million natural trees are sold over the holidays.  Many of these trees are recycled once their holiday usefulness is over.   Used natural trees can be chipped and turned into wood mulch.  Mulch is used for groundcover and erosion control in landscaping projects and trails.  Another popular use is for constructing wildlife habitat.  If properly placed in a backyard these holiday conifers provide shelter and protection for songbirds during the winter.  Placed in loose piles at the edge of a woodland these trees help many wildlife including birds, small mammals and even the animals that depend on them for food.  Many sportsmen will construct these brush piles to attract small game such as rabbits or to create hunting blinds.  Carefully placed piles on the ice in lakes can be used to create fish habitat once the ice melts and the trees sink to the bottom.  Be sure to check for restrictions before building fish or wildlife structures.

Holiday trees that have not been mulched may be taken for free from the Manitowoc County Basswood Compost Site during normal business hours.  Whole trees will be set aside in a separate pile for those interested in using them.   

• Wildlife habitat - http://www.wiparks.net/org/land/wildlife/publ/rabitat.pdf
• Tree recycling - http://www.christmastree.org/recycle.cfm
• Fish habitat - http://dnr.wi.gov/waterways/shoreline_habitat/fish_wildlife.html

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Manitowoc County Department of Public Works	Manitowoc County Expo Center	Manitowoc County Ice Center	Serving people with disabilities since 1957 Holiday House of Manitowoc Inc.