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How To Recycle Your Christmas Tree To Fight Coastal Erosion

WWNO - New Orleans Public Radio | By Travis Lux
Published December 26, 2018 at 10:41 AM CST
Travis Lux
/
WWNO
Trees collected in the city of New Orleans will be brought to Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge, above, to help rebuild eroded marsh.

For all you Grinches out there chomping at the bit to get rid of your Christmas tree, you might want to wait until January. Several local governments will be collecting and recycling trees in the new year to help fight coastal land loss.

First, some ground rules:

  • Trees must be placed on the curb on your normal trash collection day. Officials are asking residents not to leave trees on the neutral ground

  • Only real trees will be recycled (no artificial trees)

  • Clean treas of all decorations. Trees with ornaments, tinsel, lights, or tree stands will not be recycled

 
Terrebonne Parish

  • Collection dates: January 2nd - January 4th on normal trash collection day

  • How recycled: Trees will be placed along the Intracoastal Waterway near the Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge to fight erosion

 
City of New Orleans

  • Collection dates: January 10th - January 12th on normal trash collection day

  • How recycled: Trees will be brought to Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge in New Orleans East, and piled up to restore the marsh

Jefferson Parish

  • Collection dates: January 11th - 13th on normal trash collection day

  • How recycled: Trees will be brough to Lafitte where they’ll be used to help protect Goose Bayou

Credit Travis Lux / WWNO
/
WWNO
This tree, seen last year on the Banks St. neutral ground, was NOT recycled. Trees should be placed on the curb and must be cleaned of any stands and decorations.

Support for the Coastal Desk comes from the Walton Family Foundation, the Greater New Orleans Foundation, the Foundation for Louisiana, and local listeners.
Tags
Coastal Desk recyclingCoastal Land Losschristmas treeschristmas tree recyclingbayou sauvage national wildlife refuge
Travis Lux
As Coastal Reporter, Travis Lux covers flood protection, coastal restoration, infrastructure, the energy and seafood industries, and the environment. In this role he's reported on everything from pipeline protests in the Atchafalaya swamp, to how shrimpers cope with low prices. He had a big hand in producing the series, New Orleans: Ready Or Not?, which examined how prepared New Orleans is for a future with more extreme weather. In 2017, Travis co-produced two episodes of TriPod: New Orleans at 300 examining New Orleans' historic efforts at flood protection. One episode, NOLA vs Nature: The Other Biggest Flood in New Orleans History, was recognized with awards from the Public Radio News Directors and the New Orleans Press Club. His stories often find a wider audience on national programs, too, like NPR's Morning Edition, WBUR's Here and Now, and WHYY's The Pulse.
See stories by Travis Lux

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