Jackson Bell
Kick them to the curb. Or drop them off at the park. That is what
city officials are asking residents to do with their Christmas trees
now that the holidays are over.
City workers will collect trees from curbsides in front of
residences and businesses or from alleys during regular pickup days
and recycle them, beginning Monday and continuing through Jan. 16.
"We do it for convenience because Burbank is an elderly town, and
we like to provide this service for the tenants," said Ron Stoll, the
sanitation supervisor for the city's Public Works department. "Our
residents are kind of spoiled, but we like it that way."
For residents who do not want to wait until Monday, they can
dispose of their trees through Jan. 16 at Brace Canyon Park, 2850
Haven Way, or Verdugo Park, 3201 W. Verdugo Ave.
Ornaments, tree stands, buckets and any other plastic or metal
objects attached to the tree must be removed.
Residents who plan on using the curbside collection service can
either leave their trees whole or cut them up and put them in their
green waste containers, said Hope McAloon, a recycling specialist at
the Burbank Recycling Center.
City workers will take the trees to Fillmore, where they will be
composted and turned into mulch or a fertilizer substitute, McAloon
said, adding that about 80 tons of Christmas trees are collected
annually through the city's recycling program.
"We're trying to keep green waste out of the landfill," she said.
"[Residents] are doing a good thing for the water and soil when they
recycle the trees."
Old trees should be removed today or tomorrow, since they pose a
fire hazard the longer they're left in homes and the drier they
become, Burbank Fire Capt. Ron Bell said.
"They just burn too quickly," Bell said. "Like a dead tree
standing in the forest, they will burn up like a torch."
Christmas trees, he added, should never be used as wood for
fireplaces.
For more information on the city's Christmas tree recycling
program, call 238-3800.
