No matter where you live in Santa Barbara County, it is easy to recycle your Christmas tree!
To properly prepare your Christmas tree for recycling, please remove all ornaments, tinsel, and stands. Trees with stands and flocked trees cannot be recycled and will not be accepted. Also, for trees over six feet, please cut them in half.
If you live in the City of Carpinteria and you are a customer of E.J. Harrison and Sons, please follow these directions:
If you live in a single-family home in the unincorporated areas of Carpinteria, Goleta, Hope Ranch, Isla Vista, Montecito, or Summerland, or in the Cities of Santa Barbara or Goleta, and you are a customer of Allied Waste (formerly known as Browning-Ferris Industries (BFI)) or MarBorg Industries, you may place your tree in or next to your green waste container or next to your trash container on your collection days. If you live in an apartment, condominium, or mobile home park that has trash service, and you have not received instructions from your landlord on what to do with your tree, please contact your waste hauler to determine when to place your tree outside.
For customers of Waste Management (also known as Health Sanitation Service (HSS)) who live in the following areas, please place your tree next to your trash container by 6:00 a.m. on collection day from January 5, through 9, 2009:
Cities of Buellton, Guadalupe, Santa Maria, and Solvang and the unincorporated areas of Los Alamos, Mesa Oaks, Mission Hills, Orcutt, Santa Maria, Santa Ynez Valley, and Vandenberg Village/Country Club.
If you live in the City of Lompoc, please place your Christmas tree near your trash containers by 7:00 a.m. on January 5, 2009 for pickup by the City.
If you do not have recycling service through your franchise waste hauler, you may drop your tree off for free at one of the following locations during normal operating hours:
Vandenberg Air Force Base Landfill: Building 8399, southwest of 6th Street and New Mexico Avenue Vandenberg Air Force Base (805) 606-7571 Open Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.. Open to military family housing residents, Air Force personnel, and pre-approved contractors only.)
Waste Management/Health Sanitation Service: 1850 W. Betteravia Road Santa Maria (805) 922-2121 Open Monday through Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
You can help reduce the amount of waste generated in Santa Barbara County by taking a few of the following simple steps: - Flatten, save, & reuse gift boxes, wrapping paper, bows and gift bags; - Buy cards & wrapping paper made with recycled paper; - After receiving new gifts, donate old items to a local charity or thrift store; - Save & reuse holiday decorations for future years; - Cut up brown paper grocery bags to wrap parcels for mailing; - Use comics, old posters, and shopping bags to wrap presents; - Save bubble wrap & Styrofoam peanuts, or offer them to local private mailing stores;
The California Department of Conservation also provides an on-line Green Gift Guide (Guide) that may be accessed by visiting: http://www.greengiftguide.com/ This Guide offers tips for being green in terms of purchasing a Christmas tree, wrapping presents, and entertaining. It also lists telephone numbers and links to websites of firms that sell products with recycled content in such areas as business gifts, clothing and jewelry, home products, garden and outdoor products, toys, games, and sports, and pet products.
If you have any questions, please call the County Public Works Department, Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division, at (805) 882-3616. Happy holidays!
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Last updated: January 6, 2009
