By Benjamin Rothstein

WILMINGTON – The Delaware Center for Horticulture’s TreeCycle Christmas tree recycling event is taking place once again on Jan. 6, 2024.

The event, set for the center’s parking lot at 1810 N. Dupont St. in Wilmington, allows the public to bring their Christmas tree and have it recycled for free.

“TreeCycle is a great way to introduce someone who may not be familiar with our work or space to the world of horticulture as well as take part in an event to benefit the environment,” center spokeswoman Caitlyn Ridgley said.

The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and new this year is the introduction of goats to eat trees between noon and 2 p.m. All decorations and stands must be taken off the tree before chipping, and artificial trees are not allowed.

TreeCycle recycled almost 400 trees last year.

Ms. Ridgley said that despite a statewide ban on yard waste at landfills, unrecycled trees can still tend to end up at them.

“They don’t decompose very well, and the nutrients don’t find their way back into our green spaces,” she said.

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is a major sponsor of the event this year.

According to Adam Schlachter, the department’s Waste and Hazardous

Substances Division Program manager, events like TreeCycle help reinforce that yard waste ban.

“If we don’t put organics into a landfill, they can better decompose in a more environmentally friendly manner,” said Mr. Schlachter.

Trees recycled will be shredded and turned into mulch. Some of that will be used at the center’s E.D. Robinson Urban Farm, which provides fresh produce for the community at 12th and Brandywine streets in Wilmington.

Though the event is only at one location this year, Ms. Ridgley said the event continues to grow and is hoping to expand every year.

She also notes that events like these are not the only option to recycle. Trees can be burned in fire puts, put in brush piles to provide shelter for animals, or in ponds to do the same for fish.

The event is also a great way to teach younger attendees about the center and what it does.

“TreeCycle is also fun, so reinforcing excitement around helping the environment, especially with younger attendees is important,” said Ms. Ridgley,

Other yard waste dropoff sites across the state can be found at https://dnrec.delaware.gov/waste-hazardous/yard-waste/drop-off-sites/