Village Collecting Discarded Christmas Trees, Wreaths

As it does every year, Garden City's Department of Public Works is collecting discarded natural Christmas trees and wreaths, which are then made into mulch and offered to village residents for free.

The mulch is available at the Village Yard; residents must provide containers. The mulch is also offered to local agencies for beach erosion control.

According to the National Christmas Tree Association, a farm-grown Christmas tree is 100 percent biodegradable and can be used all kinds of ways in nature.

For example, volunteers relied heavily on Christmas trees to help rebuild sand dunes in Alabama after Hurricane Ivan hit the Gulf Coast in 2004.

Be sure to leave Christmas trees and wreaths at the curb the evening before your regularly scheduled recycling collection day. Please refer to your 2011-2012 sanitation guide if you are unsure of your regular recycling collection day. Each day is different for each of the four sections of the village. Remove tree stands and plastic bags from the tree.

Those residents who have an artificial Christmas tree and want to dispose of it, call the Sanitation Department for a "special pickup" at 465-4031 or 465-4032.