Dec. 27, 2010, 1 a.m. - The Prince George’s County Department of Environmental Resources will provide free Christmas tree collection and drop-off services for all residents for recycling of their live Christmas trees.

Residents with yard waste collection should place their undecorated, live Christmas trees at curbside before 6:30 a.m. on their regularly scheduled collection day.  Residents may also bring their undecorated trees, at no charge, to the Prince George’s County Yard Waste Composting Facility or to the Brown Station Road Public Convenience Center.

The Prince George’s County Yard Waste Composting Facility, located at 6601 S.E. Crain Highway in Upper Marlboro, will accept one Christmas tree per vehicle, Monday through Friday, from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.  The Brown Station Road Public Convenience Center, located at 3501 Brown Station Road in Upper Marlboro, will accept Christmas trees (with no limitations) Monday through Saturday from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. 

“This is an eco-friendly way to dispose of your Christmas trees,” said Dennis Bigley, Deputy Director of DER.  “Every tree that is collected will be shredded and cured into mulch for our annual Mulch Giveaway event that is held in the spring.  Last year, DER’s Waste Management Group (WMG) collected over 78 tons of Christmas trees for recycling.”

For more information on Christmas tree recycling, call WMG’s Recycling Team at
(301) 883-5045.  For information about your yard waste collection day, call WMG’s Collection Team at (301) 952-7630.