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Central Okanagan residents urged to chip it, not chuck it

Plans already in place to dispose of Christmas trees after the upcoming holiday
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People may just be buying their Christmas trees now, but the Central Okanagan’s waste reduction office is already advising residents on how to environmentally dispose of their trees after the holiday. —Image: Matthew Allen/The Northern View

Christmas may be still two weeks away, but the regional waste reduction office is already advising the public about how to dispose of Christmas trees in an environmentally friendly way.

And once again it is advising the public to “chip it, not chuck it.”

“You can give your tree another life after the holidays by dropping it off at any one of the convenient Chip It locations,” said waste reduction facilitator Rae Stewart.

“Your tree will then be chipped down and composted into a nutrient-rich soil enhancer called GlenGrow. It’s perfect for top dressing your lawn, landscaping, mixing in your vegetable garden and is available at various locations around the area including the Glenmore landfill in the spring.”

If you don’t want to haul your tree to a drop off location, you can also cut it down to size and put the pieces in your yard waste cart for pick up once yard waste collection resumes March 1. Keep in mind the prunings and branches need to be no longer than five centimetres in diameter and less than one meter long.

Please remove all decorations and tinsel before recycling your tree, plus any plastic bags or other materials used for transporting as they interfere with the composting process.

Christmas tree drop-off locations, running Dec. 26 through Jan. 31, will be:

Kelowna

• Ben Lee Park (parking lot at Houghton Road)

• Cook Road boat launch (parking lot)

• Glenmore Landfill (Glenmore Road) . The landfill will be open Monday to Sunday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. It will be closed Dec. 26 and Jan 1. Fees will apply at the landfill as of Jan. 1.

West Kelowna

•Westside Residential Waste Disposal and Recycling Center (Asquith Road) The West Kelowna location will be open Friday to Monday, 7:30 a.m. to 3:50 p.m. It will be closed and Jan 1.

Lake Country

Jack Seaton Park (1950 Camp Road)

The former compost site drop-off location on Princeton Avenue in Peachland is now closed. Peachland residents can take their trees and yard waste, year-round, to the Westside Residential Waste Disposal Center on Asquith Road in West Kelowna.

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