Santa Clara and San Mateo County residents can recycle Christmas trees via tree collection services
Christmas tree farm (John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Most residents of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties can recycle their Christmas trees via Recology's and GreenWaste Recovery's curbside holiday tree collection.
Residents should check which company services their city for details on holiday tree collection. People should remove all tinsel, lights, decorations and stands from their trees, cut the tree to smaller lengths and leave it next to their compost carts for pickup on regular service days. Cut pieces can also be placed in compost carts once the lid can close.
For Recology customers in Santa Clara County - which includes Mountain View and Cupertino - tree collection takes place in January. Property managers can call to arrange a tree pickup from a central location on their sites.
Trees should be cut to five feet or less and Recology will accept flocked trees (trees with artificial snow). For more information on Recology Santa Clara County tree collection click here.
For Recology customers in San Mateo County - which serves cities from East Palo Alto to Burlingame - tree collection takes place from Jan. 1 to Jan. 31. Trees taller than eight feet should be cut down before placing next to a collection cart. Property managers for apartments or condominiums in Recology San Mateo County service areas can schedule tree collection between Jan. 2 and Jan. 31 on behalf of the entire complex.
More information about the Recology San Mateo County tree collection is available here.
A map of service areas in San Mateo County is available here. While the city of Atherton will be serviced by GreenWaste Recovery starting in 2021, GreenWaste will provide tree collection for Atherton residents using existing Recology carts on Jan. 2.
After January, Recology will no longer collect trees. Instead, trees should be cut and placed into green compost carts for collection.
GreenWaste Recovery - which services cities including Los Altos Hills, Palo Alto, Portola Valley and Woodside - will pick up holiday trees in the weeks following Christmas Day. Trees should also be cut to smaller lengths and placed next to the green organics bin.
For cities in other service areas, visit individual city websites for information on garbage, waste and recycling services.