Not sure what to do with your Christmas tree after the holidays?
Whidbey Island residents will have plenty of free and inexpensive options, ranging from home pickups to drop-offs at recycling centers.
Island County is accepting Christmas trees free of charge at all of its Whidbey Island solid waste locations until the end of January.
Those drop-off points are located at the following locations: 3151 Oak Harbor Road, Oak Harbor; 20018 State Highway 20, Coupeville; and, in Bayview, 5790 S. Kramer Road, Langley.
“The trees have to be free of all ornamentation, including tinsel, and we do not accept flocked trees. They have to go in the garbage,” said Gene Clark, recycle and hazardous waste coordinator for Island County.
Island Disposal, which offers curbside pickup service throughout the island, except for the City of Oak Harbor, will pick up Christmas trees next to the trash can on normal pickup days, but they must be chopped in 3-foot increments, said Tiffani Vlazek, customer service representative.
Vlazek said the trees will be billed as an extra with the charge of $3.77 for every 3-foot section. There is no date set for when tree pickups will end.
In the City of Oak Harbor, garbage customers will be able to put their trees out for pickup next to their yard waste bins on their normal garbage days Jan. 2-7 and Feb. 2-6.
Customers who aren’t part of the yard waste bin program may attach a prepaid yard waste bag to the base of the Christmas tree.
The base needs to be under 3 inches, and the trees can’t contain tinsel or flock.
Various groups also are offering to pick up trees at residences for a donation.
Coupeville Boy Scout Troop 4058 will pick up trees Dec. 27 and Jan. 3 within the Coupeville town limits and in Admiral’s Cove.
To schedule a pickup, contact Angi Carlson at 360-632-1750 or angi@whidbey.net
Another group, the Chaoyang, China, orphanage team, is offering home pickups Jan. 3 from Coupeville to North Whidbey with residents not needing to be present.
To schedule a pickup with that group, call Toni Crebbin at 360-672-5449 or send an email to crebbintoni@gmail.com The suggested donation is $10 and the deadline to arrange a pickup is Jan. 1.
Meerkerk Gardens in Greenbank also will accept Christmas trees for recycling for a donation from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 1-15. The mulch will be used in the gardens.
Those interested in taking their trees to Meerkerk Gardens are asked to drop them off by the chip pile in the visiting parking lot and place their donation in the green self-pay entrance fee box. They ask that no trees with tinsel or flocked trees be dropped off.
