After the holidays have come and gone, your home will most likely be filled with bags of holiday rubbish. Wrapping paper, cardboard boxes, and even your Christmas tree may be thrown out as trash; however, these are all renewable and reusable resources that can benefit our environment.

Throwing your Christmas tree out as trash has a negative effect on our environment because Christmas trees take a long time to biodegrade. A Christmas tree that is recycled is turned into mulch for planting in parks, along nature trails and on playgrounds in the community.

WaterWays Township's closest recycling hub is the Richmond Hill Landfill located on Spur 144. The center will accept Christmas trees, other recyclables and even bags of trash for a small fee. You can also take your tree to the J.F. Gregory Park on Monday, January 7 for the "Bring one for the Chipper" event.

Before donating or recycling your Christmas tree, make sure that it is free of ornaments, garlands, wires, stands and lights. It is important that the tree look as it would in a natural environment. Make this a "green" holiday season and recycle your Christmas tree.