The Christmas tree recycling spot at the Kipling Street depot. (Photo Courtesy Derek Brade)

By Chris Brown

Three depots to recycle your real Christmas tree

Dec 29, 2021 | 4:44 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Christmas Day has passed and some in our community have already begun to clear out the signs.

That includes putting fake Christmas trees back into storage for another year. But what if you have a real tree?

Not to worry. The City of Medicine Hat has set up its annual Christmas tree recycling locations.

Real trees can be dropped off until the end of January at any of the city’s three recycling depots, located at Northlands Co-op, Kipling Street and the Medicine Hat Mall.

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“These spots are specifically only for real Christmas trees,” explains Jamie Garland, the City of Medicine Hat’s services manager. “So we ask that residents remove all the lights, any decorations. None of the plastic bags that they come in and any other foreign material that might be on a tree, we ask that be removed. Just the natural Christmas trees alone.”

The trees are picked up daily and are chipped up and used for compost which Garland calls a win-win for everybody.

“It’s a great program that turns the trees into a nice usable product,” he says.

Residents can also take real trees out to the composting facility at the landfill during regular operating hours.