We all enjoy seeing twinkling Christmas trees in many of our neighbors’ windows during the holiday season.

But, what becomes of all those trees? Are they destined for the landfill after they’re taken down? Thankfully they don’t have to be.

This January, the city of Chicago once again offered about two dozen locations where residents could drop-off their Christmas trees for recycling.  The trees are then turned into mulch, wood chips for use at Chicago Park District properties and materials for use by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District.

But, driving your old tree to a recycling center can take a lot of time and effort.

So, Southport Neighbors’ Beautification Committee decided to make things easier for neighborhood residents by piggy-backing off of Alderman Tunney’s long-standing tree recycling event.  Residents were asked to place their trees in their alley on designated days, and then on January 6, SNA volunteers (including Jill Peters, Grant Peters and Wyatt Milstein) picked them up in a truck and hauled them to a city drop-off location.

“I had a great time helping with the tree recycling this year.  It was a great opportunity to help out the community, all while getting a good workout,” said neighborhood volunteer Wyatt Milstein.  “I’m looking forward to volunteering again next year.”

All in, Southport Neighbors was able to recycle 48 trees, a number they hope to beat next year.

Great job neighbors!

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