Wondering what to do with your Christmas tree now that Christmas has come + gone?

We know it’s hard, but when January 1...2...or 15 starts rolling around, it’s time to say goodbye to your Christmas tree. But that doesn’t have to mean it’s heading straight for the dumpsters. Instead, we have some tips on how to put an old tree to good use.

Whether you want to properly dispose of it, recycle it or reuse your real Christmas tree for yourself, we’ve got the scoop. Bonus: Tips on what to do with leftover decorations + packaging and how to recycle them.

From creating a natural bird feeder to recycling for mulch, learn ways to reuse your tree and dispose your decorations here.

O’ Christmas Tree

🎄Curbside Pickup for Recycling

City of Asheville will recycle your tree for you, so all you have to do is bring it out to the curb by 7 p.m. on the Monday of your regular brush collection week. But to make sure it gets properly recycled, you’ll need to remove the tinsel, garland, tree stand + ornaments from it before bringing it out.

🎄Drop-off Recycling Center

If you don’t want to wait for curbside pickup, you can be a go-getter and drop the tree off yourself at Buncombe County Landfill (81 Panther Branch Road) or any private yard waste facility of your choosing. Remember that magical time of December where every other car on the street had a freshly cut pine tree tied to the top? Well, imagine a similar scene, but with a flair of Night of the Living Dead Christmas Trees. Once again, don’t forget to remove the tinsel, garland, tree stand + ornaments from the tree before dropping it off.

🎄Natural Bird Feeders

Give back to Mother Nature by making a natural bird feeder with your old Christmas tree. Simply place the tree in your backyard with some fresh orange garland and stringed popcorn and birds will quickly come and claim their new sanctuary. After a while, the branches will turn brittle and you can easily break them down for garden and mulching use.

🎄Make Your Own Mulch

When you take a tree to a recycling center they’re going to turn it into mulch anyway. So, why not use it for your own yard and spring gardening? You can use the wood chips and needles to keep the trees in your yard moist during the winter season. Ideally, you could shred the tree (Home Depot stores accept trees for mulching) but usually by the time the holidays are over the needles will already be falling off. You can spread them in garden beds or over the lawn.

Deck the halls

Here are some holiday recycling tips from the City of Asheville so you know what is nice to throw in the blue container and what is naughty.

🎁What CAN be Recycled

All wrapping paper *except for foil paper
Gift boxes
Cardboard
Paper gift bags *without strings
Holiday cards + envelopes
Catalogs, newspapers, magazines, junk mail, etc.

🎁What CANNOT be Recycled

Tissue paper
Ribbons + bows
Plastic gift bags
Bubble wrap and styrofoam
Puffy mailing envelopes
Used paper plates + cups
Napkins + paper towels
Christmas lights + electronics (take lights to Biltmore Iron & Metal)

My personal rule of thumb: Christmas can come down after Jan. 4. Why Jan. 4? I feel like holiday get togethers are officially over at that point.

Despite how you choose to dispose of your holiday decorations, we hope your Christmas tree was everything you wanted it to be this year. 🎄Protip: Don’t want the hassle? Consider buying a potted Christmas tree next year so you can plant the tree in your yard after the holidays.

Here’s to making spirits bright, AVL.

–Audra + the AVLtoday team