LOMPOC — The city of Lompoc’s Solid Waste Division has contracted with West Coast Arborists to collect and recycle Christmas trees from city residents next month.
City residences can utilize the service between Jan. 4 to 8. The service is free of charge, according to a news release.
Solid waste collection customers are advised to place their trees three feet away from their refuse containers by 7 a.m. on their scheduled trash collection day during the week of Jan. 4. Residents who miss the home tree collection are invited to drop their trees off free of charge at the Lompoc City Landfill, 700 Avalon St. Flocked trees cannot be recycled and must be cut up and placed in the trash bin or brought to the landfill and disposed of, for a fee.
Prior to recycling the trees, all decorations and tree stands must be removed. Once they are collected, West Coast Arborists will grind the trees into mulch, which will then be used as landscape material throughout the city, officials said.
There will not be trash collection on Jan. 1 and collection will be pushed back one day. In addition, the city landfill will be closed Jan. 1.
In Santa Barbara and Goleta, residents may place their tree at the curb or next to their green waste bin on their regular MarBorg collection day for the next two weeks. Residents are reminded to remove all ornaments, tinsel, and plastic or metal tree stands. Flocked trees will be collected as trash, as they cannot be ground into mulch. For more information, visit https://www.santabarbaraca.gov/services/recycling/largeitems/pickup.asp.
— Mitchell White
