Recycle your Christmas tree and bring it a second life as a gift to the community. Each holiday season the UNLV Rebel Recycling and the Conservation District of Southern Nevada partners with local public and private organizations to reduce holiday landfill waste and to create much needed mulch for local parks and public gardens through the recycling of Christmas trees. Beginning Monday, Dec. 26 through Saturday, Jan. 15, Las Vegans are encouraged to drop off their discarded Christmas trees at one of 22 convenient locations throughout the city.
Las Vegas valley residents have recycled more than 95,000 trees creating 822 tons of mulch since the program began in 2001. Last Christmas season more than 15,000 trees were recycled, chipped and turned into 136 tons of nutrient rich mulch used for landscaping projects and dust control. Local landfill volume was spared 133 tons, roughly the equivalent of nine school buses.
Each year about 200,000 trees are sold in Las Vegas Valley and about 7 percent are recycled. Organizers are hoping to increase this year's efforts.
"Artificial trees tend to be worse for the environment," said Tara Pike, Manager of UNLV's Rebel Recycling Program. "Fake trees are imported from thousands of miles away using fossil fuels to be transported across the ocean or driven across the country and when they wear out they ultimately end up in a landfill. Recycled fresh-cute trees are returned to nature and help beautify our community parks."
If residents are unable to drive their tree to any of the local drop-off points,1-800-GOT-JUNK will pick up the tree between the hours of 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., from Dec. 26 to Jan. 15. For $30 the company will remove the tree and vacuum up all pine needles. Customers can call 1-800-468-5865 (1-800-GOT-JUNK) 24 hours a day to schedule a pick up, or book an appointment on-line at www.1800gotjunk.com and receive a $10 on-line booking discount.
All donated trees will be chipped into rich organic material to be used at public gardens and parks across the valley including the Springs Preserve, City of Henderson parks, Clark County parks, City of North Las Vegas parks and Tonopah Community Garden. As the mulch decomposes, it will provide many nutrients that plants need to remain healthy and conserve soil moisture.
Cut Christmas trees may be dropped off at any of the following locations
Clark County
- Desert Breeze Park - 8275 Spring Mountain Road at Durango Drive (behind the Community Center)
- Lone Mt. Park (1 mile west of Mt. Crest Park), 4445 N. Jensen near Jensen and Helena Sunset Park
- Sunset Park, 2601 E. Sunset at Eastern
Henderson
- Acacia Park - 50 Casa Del Fuego St., I-215 at Gibson
- Anthem Hills Park - 2256 Reunion Drive at Anthem Parkway
- Mission Hills Park - 551 E. Mission Dr. at College
- Pecos Legacy Park - 150 Pecos Road
- Whitney Ranch Recreation Center - 1575 Galleria Drive, near Russell Road and Whitney Ranch Drive
- Morrell Park - 500 Harris St. at Basic Road
Las Vegas
- Bruce Trent Park, 8851 Vegas Drive, near Rampart Road
- Sunny Springs Park, 7620 Golden Talon Ave. near Elkhorn Road and Farm Road
Las Vegas Springs Preserve
- 333 S. Valley View Blvd.
Logandale
- Cooperative Extension Office 1897 N. Moapa Valley Blvd.
Nellis Air Force Base
- Recycling Center, Building 461
North Las Vegas
- Aviary Park - 6650 Aviary Way and I-215
- Cheyenne Sports Complex - 3500 E. Cheyenne at Pecos
- Craig Ranch Golf Course - 628 W. Craig Road at Commerce
- Seastrand Park - 6330 Camino Eldorado near Centennial Parkway and I-215
NV Division of Forestry Nursery
- In Floyd Lamb Park at Tule Springs, 9600 Tule Springs Road, near US-95 N and Durango Drive
Southern Highlands
- 12200 Southern Highlands Parkway
Summerlin
- RC Willey - 3850 S. Town Center Dr., Town Center and I-215
UNLV Rebel Recycling
- Flamingo and Swenson, southeast corner behind three solar dishes
How to prepare your tree for recycling
- Remove all non-organic materials such as lights, wire, tinsel, ornaments, nails, tree stands and any other material that are not part of the tree.
- Flocked (sprayed with artificial snow) trees cannot be recycled.
- Trees more than 5 feet tall should be cut in half.
Christmas Tree Recycling Program Partners
The Christmas Tree Recycling program is a partnership throughout the valley between the following organizations: City of Henderson, City of North Las Vegas, City of Las Vegas, Clark County Parks and Recreation, Clear Channel Outdoor, Conservation District of Southern Nevada, Cox Communications, Desert Green, Environmental Ink, Evergreen Recycling, First Choice Tree Service, Galleria at Sunset, Las Vegas Valley Water District, Lunas, Frosty's Christmas Trees, MGM Resorts International, Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, Nevada Division of Forestry, Opportunity Village, PAR 3 Landscape & Maintenance, Inc., RC Willey, Republic Services, SB Landscaping, Southern Nevada Water Authority, Springs Preserve, Star Nursery, Summerlin, UNLV Rebel Recycling Program, University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, Vermeer Sales Southwest, and 1-800-GOT-JUNK.
For more information, contact Tara Pike at UNLV Rebel Recycling at 702.895.3760 or Jennifer Clifford at Conservation District of Southern Nevada at 702.262.9047 x109 or visit Springs Preserve website or like Southern Nevada Christmas Tree Recycling on Facebook.
