LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY)-- It's time to recycle your Christmas tree.
As part of LCG's regular garbage and recycling pick-up services, "green waste" is picked up free of charge, including real Christmas trees.
Clear trees of any decorations and leave them near the trash can.
Greg Guidroz, LCG's Recycling Specialist, said once the trees are picked up, they are turned into free compost for the community to use at the Compost Facility.
"We'll run them through an industrial wood grinder, which reduces them down in size," Guidroz said. "Then, once we got a reduced size, it'll be processed in wind rows into a mulch or a compost product that can be distributed to the residents of Lafayette once it's completed."
That takes six to eight months to complete.
"The wind rows allow us an opportunity to monitor that environment that facilitates the growth of those microbes," Guidroz continued. "By facilitating that growth, we can expedite the decomposition process, something that might take a year, two, three years if leaves just fell on to the forest floor."
Trees with decorations left on them are sent to the landfill instead.
"If you leave your lights on, if you leave tinsel on, if you flocked your tree with artificial flocking, if you have ornaments on there, that's going to be looked at as normal garbage," Guidroz said. "It's going to make its journey to the Welsh landfill like the rest of Lafayette's waste."
If properly disposed of, it will be a part of the green waste that is 15% of the city's garbage.
"We're able to handle that locally," Guidroz said. "We're saving on fuel costs, we're saving on hauling time and we're processing it locally into a product that is extremely beneficial for residents to use."
As for other recycling methods, Guidroz said Lafayette used to send the trees to the state's coastal communities for coastal restoration projects. However, due to the cost of fuel and shipping, they stopped.
Lafayette residents can also drop off their trees at the compost facility free of charge with an ID proving they are Lafayette residents. However, if it is combined with other green waste, there is a fee.
Click here for more information on how to dispose of your Christmas tree.
