Recycle Your Christmas Tree

Your Christmas tree can live on this year because of Strongsville's recycling effort.

From Dec. 26 through Jan. 21, Service Department crews will pick up trees left on tree lawns, chip them and take them to a compost facility approved by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.

Residents are asked to take all ornaments and lights off the trees and place them at the curb on their regular trash pickup day.

The program is dependent on the weather. Because the crews that pick up the trees are the same ones that plow the streets, a snowstorm could deter the effort. Snow plowing takes precedence, city officials said.

Residents are reminded to never burn their Christmas trees. Open burning is prohibited within Strongsville city limits.

And it is never safe to burn Christmas greens in a fireplace. Pine and fir trees produce a lot of creosote, which can leave deposits in the flue and ultimately lead to a chimney fire.