Following Christmas Day, several San Francisco city departments came together to hold their annual chipping tree event Tuesday morning in front of City Hall for the first time after a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event is held to remind San Franciscans of the proper way to dispose of their Christmas trees.
Those involved included representatives from the San Francisco Environment Department, the Department of Public Works, the local waste management company Recology and the San Francisco Fire Department.
The annual Christmas tree recycling program is scheduled to take place from Jan. 2 through Jan. 12.
The collected trees will be transported to Recology’s Blossom Valley Organics North facility near Vernalis in San Joaquin County, where the trees will then be ground up into mulch.
Those putting their trees curbside after the holidays are reminded to remove all decorations, tinsel, stands as well as lights from the trees. Trees standing over 6 feet also need to be cut in half.
“Christmas tree-cycling helps keep the City green and clean by reducing material sent to landfill and preventing improper disposal and illegal dumping,” the Environment Department said in a news release.