Recycle Christmas Trees and Go Green this Holiday Season

Press Release from Charleston County

Tips from Environmental Management and the holiday recycling pickup schedule

Charleston County Environmental Management Holiday Schedule:

• Environmental Management Department:
  • Administrative Offices will be closed Thursday, December 24, Friday, December 25 and Monday, December 28 in observance of the Christmas holiday and will reopen on Tuesday, December 29
  • Administrative offices will be closed on Friday, January 1 in observance of New Year’s Day

• Bees Ferry Landfill
  • The landfill will be open from 8 am to noon on Thursday, December 24. The landfill will be closed on Friday, December 25
  • The landfill will resume normal hours on Saturday, December 26 from 8 am to 3 pm
  • The landfill will be closed on Friday, January 1
  • The landfill will resume normal hours on Saturday, January 2 from 8 am to 3 pm

• Staffed Convenience Centers
  • Staffed convenience centers will be closed Thursday, December 24 and Friday, December 25, except the Bees Ferry Convenience Center, which will be open on Thursday, December 24 from 7:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. and will be closed on Friday, December 25
  • Staffed convenience centers will resume normal hours on Saturday, December 26 from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., except for the Signal Point Road Convenience Center, which is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m
  • Staffed convenience centers will be closed on Friday, January 1 for New Year’s Day
  • All staffed convenience centers will resume normal hours on Saturday, January 2.
    

• Curbside Pickup
  • Curbside pickup will NOT be impacted by the holidays. Please place your bin at the curb on your normally scheduled pickup day.

Charleston County’s Environmental Management Department is asking citizens to go green this holiday season by recycling Christmas trees and by following other helpful tips to lessen the environmental impact.

To recycle Christmas trees and greenery, follow these instructions:

• Remember to remove all decorations such as lights, tinsel, ornaments, etc.
• Some municipalities will pick them up curbside, or they can be taken to a convenience center. The trees picked up curbside are transported to the McGill Bees Ferry Compost Facility to be ground and composted.

All paper, including gift wrapping, cardboard and other products (plastic bottles & containers, glass bottles & jars and aluminum & steel cans) can also be recycled through the curbside program and at the numerous drop-site locations and convenience centers located throughout the County. The convenience centers also accept used motor oil, used electronics (televisions, printers, monitors and computers only), household hazardous materials, batteries, paint, and compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).

Note: Please flatten all cardboard boxes before placing in your recycling cart. If you have oversized boxes, please cut them down to fit in your recycling cart. Overflow recyclable material (including cardboard) may be dropped off at any recycling dropsite location.

Below are other helpful tips you can follow for environmental awareness this holiday season:

Decorating:

• If you buy a live tree, recycle it!
• Buy LED lights to reduce energy consumption and extend the lifespan of holiday lights.
• Decorate your tree with household items such as strings of popcorn and berries instead of tinsel.

Gift Giving:

• Recycle all paper including gift wrap, tissue paper, gift bags, boxes and cardboard.
• Buy holiday cards printed on recycled paper. Wrap gifts in newspaper comics or wrapping paper made with recycled content.
• Avoid purchasing over-packaged items. Drop off packaging material such as Styrofoam peanuts and bubble wrap at your local shipping store; they will gladly reuse it.
• Remember to recycle outdated electronics.

Entertaining:

• Use reusable cups, plates and utensils.
• Use cloth napkins and tablecloths instead of disposable ones.
• Recycle at your holiday events.

Cooking:

• Compost food waste with yard clippings in a backyard home composting program.
• Purchase only as much food as needed and be sure to store and prepare properly to avoid food waste generation. Not only will this reduce waste, but it will make your food dollars go further.

For more information on recycling, contact the Charleston County Environmental Management Department at (843) 720-7111 or visit recycle.charlestoncounty.org.

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