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Delaware residents encouraged to recycle Christmas trees at TreeCycle event

WHYY · last updated

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As the holidays wrap up, environmental regulators in Delaware are encouraging people to recycle their Christmas trees.

On Jan. 10, people can bring their real trees to the Delaware Center for Horticulture for its TreeCycle event.

“This is a really fun event because of its simplicity,” said Caitlyn Ridgley, communications manager at DCH. “You literally drive up with your tree, whether it’s on top of your car, in your trunk, some people walk up, ride your bike over with your tree, and we pretty much handle the rest.”

During the event, the Davey Tree Expert Company will use a commercial chipper to produce wood chips and mulch for DCH’s gardens, as well as community gardens and public landscapes across Wilmington.

“We’ve used the mulch in our urban farm area, and it just suppresses weeds for us and it smells amazing,” Ridgley said. “Other people have put them into yard waste collection sites and it biodegrades, it’s going back into the earth and provides nutrients.”