Greater Vernon Christmas tree drop-off site now open

Dec 28, 2021 | 12:30 PM

With Christmas now over, residents of Vernon, Coldstream and B.X. can recycle their fresh Christmas trees, free of charge, through the Christmas tree disposal program until January 17, 2022.

Trees can be dropped off at:

St. John’s Ambulance lot (vacant lot at the northeast corner of 47^th Ave. and 20^th St.)

To help ensure your tree is chipped and recycled properly, keep these things in mind:

Remove lights, decorations, and tree stands;
Other yard waste, commercial trees, artificial trees, trees with flocking/tinsel/spray foam, or general garbage or wastes will not be accepted at the drop-off site; and
Christmas trees can also be taken to the Greater Vernon Diversion & Disposal facility.

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Once collected, trees are chipped and used to create composting material called RDNO-Gro.

Christmas trees will not be picked up with your residential waste and will not be accepted in the community food compost collection bins.

Residents should transport all other yard waste directly to the Diversion & Disposal facility. The community food compost collection bins only accept household food scraps (including vegetable, fruit, meat, and bone scraps), and do not accept commercial materials, any kind of metal, plastic, glass, Styrofoam, or pet waste.

Residents can also leave their Christmas tree in their backyard garden as a wildlife habitat. Leaving the tree can provide habitat for small critters and birds during winter months, especially on cold nights and during winter storms. By spring, the tree will lose most of its needles and can be cut into smaller pieces to be included with yard waste or allowed to compost. This could help provide valuable organic materials for your garden.

by Pete McIntyre

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