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Christmas tree recycling program begins


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Chicago residents can drop off their Christmas trees at 25 locations across the city, including some West Side parks.

The city’s annual holiday tree recycling program will run from Saturday, Jan. 5 through Saturday, Jan. 19.

“Recycling your holiday tree gives it new life,” Department of Streets and Sanitation Commissioner John F. Tully said in a statement. “We encourage residents to recycle live trees to help keep them out of alleys, helping to ensure that valuable organic material is diverted from landfills.”

Live holiday trees can be dropped off inside tree corrals set up at any one of the 25 designated Chicago Park District locations.  The holiday tree recycling program is not able to accept wreaths or garlands. Ornaments, lights and tinsels must be removed before the tree is dropped off, and trees should be removed from any bags when placed in the tree recycling corrals.

Trees recycled through the program are turned into mulch, wood chips for use at Chicago Park Districts and materials for use by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.

Since the program’s inception in 1990, more than 268,000 trees have been mulched, including more than 18,000 last year.

Free mulch will be available for residents to pick-up beginning Monday Jan. 7, at six designated locations highlighted below in bold. Trees can be dropped off at all 25 of these sites:

  • Bessemer Park, 8930 S. Muskegon Ave.
  • Clark Park, 3400 N. Rockwell St.
  • Forestry Site, 900 E. 103rd St.
  • Garfield Park, 100 N. Central Park Ave.
  • Grant Park, 900 S. Columbus Dr.
  • Humboldt Park Boathouse, 1369 N. Sacramento Ave.
  • Jackson Park, 6300 S. Cornell Ave.
  • Kennedy Park, 2427 W. 113th St.
  • Kelvyn Park, 4438 W. Wrightwood Ave.
  • Lake Meadows Park, 3117 S. Rhodes Ave.
  • Lincoln Park, Cannon Dr. at Fullerton Ave. (Parking lot east of Cannon Dr.)
  • Margate Park, 4921 N. Marine Dr.
  • Marquette Park, 6700 S. Kedzie Ave.
  • McKinley Park, 2210 W. Pershing Rd.
  • Mt. Greenwood Park, 3721 W. 111th St.
  • North Park Village, 5801 N. Pulaski Rd.
  • Norwood Park, 5801 N. Natoma Ave.
  • Portage Park, 4100 N. Long Ave.
  • Riis Park, 6201 W. Wrightwood Ave.
  • Rowan Park, 11546 S. Avenue L
  • Sheridan Park, 910 S. Aberdeen St.
  • Walsh Park, 1722 N. Ashland
  • Warren Park, 6601 N. Western Ave.
  • Wentworth Park, 5701 S. Narragansett Ave.
  • West Chatham Park, 8223 S. Princeton

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