Starting last week, the Waste Diversion Center began collecting wrapping paper, which is considered a contaminant in the single-stream recycling process due to its high clay and low fiber content. It also is collecting Christmas lights. The city also will collect Christmas trees with all of the decorations removed until Jan. 5 at the Waste Diversion Center and four other satellite drop-off areas:
- Roosevelt Park, in the parking lot south of Eighth Avenue and Pratt Street, by the Roosevelt Activity Pool.
- Garden Acres Park, in the parking lot at 18th Avenue and Tulip Street.
- Kanemoto Park, in the parking lot at South Pratt Parkway and South Coffman Street.
- Centennial Park, in the parking lot at Alpine Street and Verdant Circle.
Trees with trunks no larger than 6 inches in diameter also can be left in curbside recycling bins, but the tree must be cut into pieces that fit inside bins. Full trees left on the curb will not be accepted.
The majority of trees collected will be turned into mulch, which is available to the public for free and can be picked up at the Waste Diversion Center. Trees that aren’t made into mulch are used to build fish habitats in local ponds, lakes or reservoirs with public fishing access that have been stocked by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
In past years, trees have been put in at McCall Lake and Golden Ponds and Izaak Walton nature areas. This winter, trees will be used to create fish habitat at Union Reservoir.
“The trees provide the basis for a food web where phytoplankton can develop that provide food for zooplankton,” said Jim Krick, a Longmont natural resources specialist. “In turn, the zooplankton is fed upon by larger macroinvertebrates and small larval and baitfish. Ultimately, larger sport fish such as bass and crappie are attracted to the trees to feed upon the smaller fish. The branches of the trees also provide places for fish to hide.”
The past two years, the tree recycling program collected about 2,000 trees. Based on a typical Christmas tree with a tree trunk base that is about 3½ inches, a Christmas tree weighs about 30 to 35 pounds. By recycling 2,000 trees, Charles Kamenides, Longmont’s waste services manager, estimated the program diverts about 65,000 pounds, or 32 tons of trees, from the landfill, creating about 185 yards of mulch. That equates to 6½ Longmont trash trucks full of ground Christmas trees that are diverted from the landfill.