City offers tree recycling service
Wondering what to do with that evergreen tree now Christmas is over?
The city has an answer and it comes in the form of recycling. Officials are setting up a number of drop-off sites around the city with the ultimate goal of recycling the trees into mulch for future planting projects.
With a yard of pine mulch costing around $20, recycling Christmas trees can be a good way for people to help the environment as well as offset planting costs in the spring or other expenses, urban forester Nick Kuhn said.
Last year, around 150 trees were collected, which, after chipping, amounted to about 10 yards of mulch.
“Having the pine mulch means I can use it around other plants. It’s better depending upon what you use it on. It’s just another variation where I wouldn’t have to go buy something different,” he said of having the mulch available.
“It does save us that money. It keeps it out of the landfill. That’s something that the city doesn’t have to ship off to the landfill and it’s recycling,” he added.
Kuhn said McMinnville Electric System will assist with tree chipping and students at Boyd Christian School will also assist with the project.
The drop-off sites are at the main parking lot of the Civic Center, Three Star Mall, Boyd Christian School and the Urban Forestry Department on South Chancery Street and will be open until Jan. 13.
Kuhn and the city were also responsible for placing 43 live white pine trees downtown for Christmas in conjunction with Main Street McMinnville this year. Those trees will be planted at various sites around the city, he said.