LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - At this point, most Christmas trees have been removed from their cozy living room settings but they re not gone for good. Christmas trees are granted a useful second life through Lancaster County s various recycling programs. Around the county, 37 municipalities offer Christmas-tree recycling programs, more than double the 18 of just two years ago.
At Manheim Township s compost facility on Oregon Pike, workers transform the trees and other yard waste into compost that goes back into the community, where it can help nourish soils. We take yard waste throughout the year, said Carl Neff, Manheim Township s director of public works. But the Christmas trees really pile up. This year we got over 1,600 trees. And while many discarded their Christmas trees weeks ago, one can still spot the dried-up pines on some porches and garbage bins.
Sally Wilson of Manheim Township said she just took her tree down Monday. Yeah, I m one of those people you make fun of because my tree doesn t usually make it out the front door until the last week of January, she said. But I m happy it has somewhere to go. And I like the idea of it being used for the community. Neff said a good portion of the mulch is used at Manheim Township s various construction sites and park areas. Manheim Township has about 450 acres of parkland, he said.
That s a lot of ground and flower beds that can use mulch. On Tuesday, Neff and his crew were sticking to their grinding schedule, hauling trees into enormous piles and later placing them into machines that act much like a wood-chipper. He said the mulch allows for the return of needed organic matter and nutrients into the food chain. Those who still need to drop off their trees can take them to the facility at 2775 Oregon Pike.