| The city of Joplin will have collection points for discarded, live Christmas trees from December 26 through January 31, 2010. Bring your tree, completely stripped of all decorations, and place it near the “Christmas tree” drop-off sign posted at one of the following locations: Humphreys Park on Utica Street in the Royal Heights area, Cunningham Park on Gabby Street Boulevard near 26th and Maiden Lane, the parking lot on the southwest corner in McIndoe Park at Glendale Road and Jackson Avenue, and the Public Works Center at 1301 West 2nd St. Ultimately, the trees will be chipped up for garden mulch and made available to residents.
The City of Joplin Recycling Center and Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility accepts many discarded holiday items including, wrapping paper (no ribbons please), boxes, bottles, cans, cards and clean packing peanuts.
The Joplin recycling center is located at 1310 West A St. and is open during the winter on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The center will be closed December 24, December 25 and January 1. On December 31, New Year’s Eve, the center’s hours will be noon to 4 p.m.
Allied Waste Services will not work on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day unless these holidays fall on the weekend; however, this holiday they will run the Friday routes on Saturday for Joplin residential trash service. The Allied Waste Services Transfer Station on Old Route 66 in Galena, KS (that accepts Joplin residents’ bulky items) will be closed on December 25 and January 1.
Snow, ice and extreme cold can also delay residential trash pickup. Call Allied Waste Services at (800) 431-1507 when there is a question as to whether trash service will be delayed. For recycling and household hazardous waste disposal issues, call the Recycling Coordinator at (417) 624-0820, Ext. 501.
More ideas for environmentally friendly or useful ways to recycle trees
- Bird feeding station - secure the tree by wiring it to a post or deck, nailing it to a flat wooden base and anchoring it with a rope and three stakes or supporting the trunk in a five-gallon bucket filled with damp sand; decorate the tree with popcorn garlands, strings of cranberries, unshelled peanuts, stale marshmallows or cereal initially and later add apple slices, orange wedges, leftover breads, fruit cakes or nuts, suet cakes or pine cones smeared with peanut butter rolled in bird seed.
- Protection for perennials - lay limbs over flower beds to insulate plants against wind, severe cold and heaving soil or stick into ground like a picket fence around broad-leaved evergreens such as holly or rhododendrons to protect plants from drying winter wind
- Mulch - spread chipped needles and limbs around trees and shrubs; in case of possible nitrogen deficiency caused by this practice, remedy problem with fertilization during the growing season
- Enhanced fish habitat - Group around pond or lake to create shade and hiding spots for fish; gather discarded trees from neighbors to create bigger screen; weight trees in place using concrete blocks or set them in bucket of cement
- Brush pile for wildlife - create dense cover for ground-nesting birds, rabbits and other small animals using a stacked layer of logs and right angles to each other to make a base for the pile
- Raw material to exercise woodworking skills - create walking sticks to coat racks
"No matter what you do, remember safety first," warns Bob Schultheis, a natural resource engineering specialist with University of Missouri Extension. "Don't burn Christmas trees in the fireplace or wood stove. A dry tree is extremely combustible and the resin can build up in the chimney or cause a flue fire."
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