When the smell of pine begins to fade this holiday season, UNLV has an easy solution for Southern Nevadans. Tara Pike, UNLV’s sustainability coordinator, said the university and its partners will be ready to collect Christmas trees as soon as Friday through Jan. 15.

Residents can recycle their Christmas trees for free starting Friday at more than 30 drop-off locations throughout the valley. The Southern Nevada Christmas Tree Recycling Committee will accept trees through Jan. 15. The recycled trees will be chipped into mulch for use in school gardens and parks across the community. The program, a partnership of UNLV, community agencies and local businesses, has operated for three decades.

If you're already thinking about getting rid of your Christmas tree, UNLV has you covered. The university and its partners will operate more than 30 drop-off locations for annual tree recycling starting Friday, Dec. 26.

Have a live Christmas tree and wondering what to do with it after the holidays? Residents are encouraged to recycle their live trees instead of throwing them away, and a local partnership helps the Southern Nevada community do just that.For three decades, the Southern Nevada Christmas Tree Recycling Committee has coordinated a free Christmas tree recycling program for local residents. The committee is a partnership between UNLV, community agencies, and local businesses.

Need to figure out what to do with the Christmas tree after the holidays? UNLV and community partners say they will start recycling Christmas trees for mulch. Organizers say there will be more than 30 drop-off locations across the Las Vegas Valley. The program starts Dec. 26 and will run through Jan. 15. Organizers say last year, 10,000 trees were recycled and it created 86 tons of nutrient-rich mulch.

It's not just pigeons that strut the UNLV campus, the university is also a resting ground for migratory birds. And now — the campus is a little bit safer for the feathered creatures that stop down on their long journeys — thanks to a group of students speaking up for wildlife.

The city of Las Vegas aims to plant 60,000 trees by 2050. UNLV’s Las Vegas Urban Forest Center will put in 3,000 trees by 2028, and the nonprofit Impact NV is committed to planting 100,000 trees by 2032. Las Vegas has consistently ranked as the second-fastest warming city in the country in annual analyses from nonprofit Climate Central.

Students, arborists-in-training and UNLV staff dug holes circling a dog park Friday morning as part of the university’s “Urban Forestry Initiative.” The program is using a $5 million federal grant to plant trees across the Las Vegas Valley, targeting communities with below average tree cover. The goal is 3,000 trees in five years of the program, which started January 2024.

Christmas is over. It's time to decide the future and fate of your Christmas tree. For three decades, UNLV and community organizations have encouraged the whole community to take advantage of their Southern Nevada Christmas Tree Recycling Program.

Summerlin residents are once again encouraged to recycle their real Christmas trees once the holidays are over. In partnership with Springs Preserve, the UNLV Rebel Recycling Program and dozens of other local conservation organizations, the annual Christmas Tree Recycling Program returns Dec. 26 through Jan. 15.

Now that Christmas is over, a way to give back to our community has returned. Recycling your old Christmas tree could bring life to open spaces all across our valley, so before you toss your tree in the trash, a more environmentally friendly way is available.

The smell of fresh pine may be a delight to wake up to on Christmas morning. But as the crisp smell fades and Las Vegas creeps up on the new year, Las Vegas’ sustainability groups don’t want Christmas trees anywhere near landfills.