Try 'treecycling' instead

Now that Christmas is over, what do you do with the dead tree in your living roomfi

Across Utah County, many cities offer recycling services, where trees can be picked up or dropped off for chipping to be composted for mulch.

And where no recycling is available, national environmental and wildlife organizations encourage you to get creative.

The Wisconsin Extension Service encourages homeowners to put their used tree in their backyard to shelter birds and small animals, even suggesting you encourage local fauna by decorating the tree with popcorn, cranberries and suet.

Or you could put your tree in a private fish pond, where it can provide habitat. Cabela's in Lehi has a used Christmas tree in their indoor trout pond where the fish can shelter from the many tourists who pay 25 cents for a handful of fish food to throw in the water -- a popular attraction.

Locally, the Utah State Extension office was a bit flummmoxed when asked for suggestions about disposing of Christmas trees where there is no recycling program.

"I strike out on this one," said Dean Miner after a long pause. "I really don't have any ideas."

The environmental Web site Earth911.org encourages residents to ensure a tree is recycled -- and a new tree planted for another year -- by buying live trees.

"One holiday product that can't be recycled is an artificial Christmas tree, so Earth 911 encourages everyone to purchase real trees in the future," says a statement on the Web site.

According to a national survey by the National Christmas Tree Association, 93 percent of consumers who used a real Christmas tree recycled theirs in some type of community program. These trees are used to make mulch or to prevent erosion on shorelines or streambanks, or as fish habitat.

The National Christmas Tree Association encourages such acts of "treecycling," which their Web site defines as "the act of recycling your Christmas trees so that they can be turned into compost or mulch. These trees contain valuable nutrients that can be used in other capacities."

Many cities in Utah County offer curbside or drop-off recycling, where most if not all the trees are taken away to be chipped and composted into mulch. But you may have to act fast, as some cities require the tree to be out with your trash, while others give you up to a month to clean out your living room.

All cities require clean trees, free of any decoration. Here is a list of local Christmas tree recycling programs (cities not listed did not provide data):

• Alpine -- offers curbside pickup on Jan. 12.

• American Fork -- curbside pickup from Jan. 9-12.

• Cedar Hills -- drop your tree at Heritage Park or Heiselt's Hollow Park until Jan. 7.

• Eagle Mountain -- curbside pickup from Jan. 14-17.

• Highland -- curbside pickup from Jan. 14-16.

• Lehi -- dropoff at the Lehi rodeo grounds anytime in January.

• Lindon -- drop off at the city's public works building, 946 W. Center, as soon as possible.

• Mapleton -- curbside from Jan. 16-19.

• Orem -- drop off at 16 locations around the city, see Orem.org for information.

• Provo -- curbside on the same day as trash pickup through January.

• Santaquin -- no recycling but residents may get a free landfill permit for their tree at the city offices.

• Spanish Fork -- curbside through Jan. 10.

• Springville -- curbside pickup the week of Jan. 7 on the same day as garbage pickup.

• Vineyard -- no service provided.