Wacky and Wise Ways to Get Rid of Your Christmas Tree
Goat feed, sand dunes and mulch are just some uses for old trees.
— -- Millions of Christmas trees are purchased and then thrown away each year, but not all are dumped along with the trash. Some of them are used in inventive, economical and weird ways.
Among the 25 to 30 million real Christmas trees sold in the U.S. each year, according to the National Christmas Tree Association, some are eaten by goats and others are used to support ocean shores.
Here are seven ways some people recycle or dispose of their trees:
1. Fire
For the last several years, an informal annual gathering in Detroit burns Christmas trees in a bonfire. The event will take place this Saturday, and it's an "unofficial" fundraiser for the Detroit Fire Department, according to MetroTimes.com. But fewer people are expected to attend this year on account of the chilly weather. Saturday's forecast for Detroit is a high of nine degrees.
In Amsterdam, people call the annual festival Kerstboomverbranding," or, the burning of the Christmas trees. People sip hot cocoa next to the fire at the city's Museumplein public space.
2. Lingerie
French company Do You Green uses wood and pine needles from your trees to make fabric for lingerie, the company claims on its website.
3. Sand dunes
Oceanside communities like those along the New Jersey Shore use old Christmas to restore sand dunes that have been destroyed by weather or construction. After Hurricane Sandy damaged much of the Rockaways in Queens, New York, in Oct. 2012, the city and volunteers placed the natural debris along the shore so sand will accumulate on top of it over time.
4. Goats
Goat owners in Nevada and Maine have fed their animals with old Christmas trees after the holidays.
5. Mulch
Some municipalities chip and shred trees, which can be made into mulch for your garden to conserve moisture or create a winter bed for your trees. New York City residents can bring their tree at specified times and then receive a bag of mulch in return.
6. Recycling drop-off
Feeling green? You can bring your tree to a drop-off recycling center. More than 30,000 trees were recycled last year through New York City's program. The trees are chipped into mulch and used as ground cover to nourish plantings across the city.
7. Curbside pick-up
New York and many other cities have scheduled curb-side collections in January.