Where to Take Your Christmas Tree for Recycling in Boulder County

The holidays may be drawing to a close, but your holiday tree still has one more gift to give! Recycling your tree brings new life to parks, trails, and gardens—and avoids trashing your tree in a landfill.

Your fresh, fragrant Christmas tree has been at the center of your celebrations—but when it’s time to pack the lights and ornaments away, make sure your tree is recycled! Recycling your holiday tree is a simple way to give it new life—here’s why it matters, what recycled trees become, and how you can recycle yours here in Boulder County.

Why Recycle Your Christmas Tree?

Christmas trees, when disposed of in a landfill, decompose without oxygen. This process of anaerobic decomposition produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere. By recycling your tree, you divert it from the landfill and not only prevent the production of methane, you return the tree’s nutrients back to the earth in impactful ways.

What Happens to Recycled Christmas Trees?

Once collected, recycled Christmas trees are typically chipped into mulch (and often made available for residents to use) or made into finished compost. This mulch is used to:

Enrich Soil: Mulch improves soil health, helping it retain moisture, regulate temperature, and prevent erosion.

Support Parks and Landscapes: Local parks, gardens, and landscaping projects benefit from the use of nutrient-rich mulch sourced from the community.

Protect Trails: Wood chips from recycled trees are often used to maintain hiking trails, creating safer, more sustainable pathways.

Create Compost: Some trees are composted, providing a natural, nutrient-dense soil amendment for agriculture and gardening.

How to Recycle Your Tree in Boulder County

Before recycling your tree, be sure to remove all decorations—this includes string lights, tinsel, garland, ornaments, ribbons, and even tiny metal hooks, as they can contaminate the mulch or compost your tree will become.

Next, check with your waste hauler to see if curbside tree pickup is available after the holidays. Be sure to confirm specific dates and guidelines for your area.

If curbside collection isn’t an option, many communities offer free drop-off locations in early January, making Christmas tree recycling simple and convenient!

If you live in Boulder County, recycling your holiday tree is easy! Here are curbside and drop-off guidelines in Boulder County communities:

Boulder County/City of Boulder: The Wood and Yard Waste Drop-Off Center, a City of Boulder and Boulder County–sponsored site at Western Disposal at 2051 63rd St., accepts trees from City of Boulder and Boulder County residents for free from 12/26/24–1/31/25. Western Disposal residential customers can set out trees curbside on your residential compost day until January 31 (if the tree is longer than 6 ft, please cut the top off and place it in the compost bin). If you have a hauler other than Western Disposal, reach out to them to see if they provide curbside service.

Erie: The Erie Recycling Center accepts trees of less than a 12-inch diameter year-round (weather permitting). Open daily, 8 am–4 pm, 1000 Briggs St., Erie. ID required.

Lafayette: Republic Services will pick up Christmas trees for composting curbside during weekly residential service January–March. Trees must be cut to 4 ft in length and bundled with rope or twine.

Louisville: The Branch Recycling Site is accepting trees 1/4/25 ONLY, 8 am–1 pm. Louisville ID required. Trees can also be collected on your residential curbside compost day if cut into pieces that fit in the cart with the lid closed.

Longmont: From Dec. 26, 2024, through Jan. 6, 2025, the City of Longmont will provide four satellite Christmas tree drop-off locations:
- Roosevelt Park, in the parking lot south of 8th Avenue and Pratt Street, by Roosevelt Activity Pool.
- Garden Acres Park, in the parking lot at 18th Avenue and Tulip Street.
- Kanemoto Park, in the parking lot at South Pratt Parkway and South Coffman Street.
- Centennial Park, in the parking lot at Alpine Street and Verdant Circle.
- The Longmont Recycling Center also accepts trees year-round; Mon–Sat, 8 am–4 pm. ID required. All trees will be ground into mulch and made available to residents.

Superior: The Superior Yard Waste Site at 2125 Honey Creek Lane is accepting trees 12/26/24–1/31/25, 8 am–5 pm daily.

By recycling your Christmas tree, you’re helping nourish our parks, protect local trails, and enrich local soils. Check with your municipality—mulch is often made available to residents for free! Let’s keep the spirit of giving alive—one tree at a time!

Check out our Zero Waste Holiday Guide, available in English and Spanish, for more recycling tips for a sustainable holiday!