VC Star
December 26, 2024
Even though Christmas tree recycling is an annual ritual, differing rules, dates and deadlines in various parts of Ventura County can make collection and drop-off confusing.
The advertisements, flyers and online outreach from each city are seen by residents of other areas, but each resident needs to know their own city’s rules.
Other than grinding your tree and using the mulch on site, the best “treecycling” method for the environment, requiring the least amount of truck idling time and transportation, is for you to cut your tree into 4-foot segments and fit the pieces into your regular curbside yard waste recycling cart. Remove decorations, stands and other items.
Fireproofed trees should be placed in trash carts rather than yard waste/organics carts. Similarly, trees flocked with fake snow should be cut and placed in garbage carts or handled through bulky item disposal programs in areas served by Athens and WM. However, flocked trees are acceptable for recycling with organics in Oxnard and in areas collected by Harrison Industries.
If you cannot cut your tree to fit into your cart, you can instead use free, whole-tree pickup on the regular day of collection in some locations and until specified dates:
• In areas collected by Harrison Industries and WM (formerly Waste Management), whole-tree collection is free on the day of collection until Jan. 10.
• In areas collected by Athens Services the deadline is Jan. 16.
• Port Hueneme offers whole-tree collection Jan. 6-16.
• Oxnard offers the service from Jan. 6-24.
If you set out a tree after a deadline or request collection on a non-pickup day, you may be charged for special collection unless you make separate arrangements. In most areas, you can make these arrangements by calling your trash collector and requesting your annually allocated “free bulky item collection.”
If you live in a multifamily building without yard waste service, ask your apartment manager to contract separately with your hauler for special service.
For businesses, homes without curbside yard waste service and apartments without yard waste collection bins, Christmas tree recycling drop-off sites are available during operating hours and will be free through Jan. 10 at the following locations in the Oxnard, Somis and Moorpark areas:
• Agromin Organics, 6859 Arnold Road, south of Hueneme Road in Oxnard, 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
• Agromin’s corporate office, 201 Kinetic Drive, Oxnard, 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday.
• Peach Hill Soils’ retail site at Performance Nursery, 6101 E. Los Angeles Ave., Somis, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday to Friday and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
• Peach Hill Soils’ compost site, 10765 W. Los Angeles Ave. near Moorpark, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
While supplies last, Agromin and Peach Hill offer a free bag of potting soil to residents dropping off trees at those locations.
Here are some other options:
• WM’s Simi ValleyLandfill and Recycling Center, 2801 Madera Road, allows free tree drop-off from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Saturday from Dec. 26 through Jan. 10.
• Moorpark provides free drop-off bins on Marquette Street and Park Crest Lane through Jan. 6.
• Oxnard residents may drop off trees for free at the Del Norte Regional Recycling and Transfer Station, 111 S. Del Norte Blvd., through Jan. 5, at the scale house from 5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Saturday.
• Additional sites for Oxnard residents only include, from dawn to dusk, College Park, Ololkoy (Oxnard Beach) Park and the dog park at 463 H St.
In some areas, residents can also set out extra trash after Christmas. For example, in areas collected by Harrison Industries, for two weeks, residents are allowed to set out twice their regular amount of trash at no extra charge. Through Jan. 10, place tied bags next to trash carts and collapsed cardboard next to recycling carts if it is too big to fit into the cart.
For Athens Services, only in areas outside cities, residents are allowed to set out two 50-gallon tied bags next to their garbage at no extra charge until Jan. 16.
In areas collected by WM, such as Moorpark and Simi Valley, residents can set out up to three extra bags of trash next to their solid waste carts at no extra charge from Dec. 26 through Jan. 10.
David Goldstein, an environmental resource analyst with the Ventura County Public Works Agency, can be reached at 805-658-4312 or david.goldstein@ventura.org.
