Recycle holiday trees with local organizations

GREEN BAY, WI- (WGBW) – As holiday decorations start to come down, the question becomes, what to do with the holiday trees? 

Many organizations throughout Northeast Wisconsin are offering ways for you to dispose of your natural or real holiday trees and do some good at the same time.

Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary

Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary recommends using your old natural tree as a shelter for birds and small mammals through the winter. Remove all hooks, wires, lights and garlands from the trees. Then “redecorate” it with popcorn, cereal, raisins, berries, or pinecones rolled in peanut butter and birdseed!

Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary will also take the trees and use them for the animals they care for. 

Rebuilding Manitowoc’s urban canopy

In Manitowoc, the Tree for a Tree Program is underway. Residents can bring their cut trees to the Manitowoc County Recycling Center. The trees should be bare, with all tinsel, lights, and decorations removed. In exchange, residents will be given a young deciduous tree seedling to plant. The seedlings are between three and four feet tall and are between 2 and 4 years old. The City of Manitowoc is embarking on the Tree for a Tree program to help replace some of the urban canopy that was lost due to the Emerald Ash Borer’s effects on the city’s Ash tree population.

Municipal Recycling of holiday trees

Many municipalities, like Oshkosh, offer residential holiday tree collection starting the week of January 6th. Check with your town’s sanitation office for pick-up dates and rules.