The City of Houston has set the example to follow.
Stripped of holiday finery and misshapen after a Christmas Eve wind gust clipped off its top, Houston’s official City Hall Christmas tree unceremoniously was chopped, chipped and shipped off to the mulch factory Wednesday in an effort to encourage residents to do the environmentally proper thing with their own no-longer-needed trees.
The city’s Solid Waste Department and its recycling project partner, Living Earth Technologies, will accept unwanted trees at 16 collection centers through Jan. 11.
Mayor-elect Annise Parker, who was among the city officials present for the morning tree-cutting, said donated evergreens will be converted into gardening soil amendments and sold as Living Earth Houston Mulch.
“This program saves the city money, does the right thing for the environment and allows each Houstonian to do his part,” said Parker, a former chairwoman of the city’s Solid Waste Task Force.
What more could you want, except maybe a listing of where to take your tree to be recycled? Go forth and recycle.