NEW ORLEANS — The City of New Orleans will continue its program of recycling Christmas trees to promote the restoration of Louisiana’s wetlands and to assist in the protection of the Louisiana coastline.
“New Orleans is earning a solid reputation as an eco-friendly city, and this service is one of the ways our residents can help protect and restore our environment,” said Mayor Mitch Landrieu. “Together, we can stop thousands of trees from being needlessly disposed in a landfill when it can be reused to provide critical support in helping preserve our cherished wetlands.”
Orleans Parish residents and small businesses, which are eligible for garbage collection by the City, can recycle their Christmas trees by placing them curbside on their regularly scheduled collection days Jan. 8, 9, and 10. The trees must be natural with all ornaments, tinsel, lights and tree stands removed. Flocked and artificial trees will not be collected, and trees should not be placed on the neutral grounds. Trees should not be placed in plastic bags.
The City’s Department of Sanitation, Office of Coastal and Environmental Affairs and the Materials Management Group are making possible the effort to collect, sort, and bundle the trees, which will be placed in selected coastal zones.
This project is funded by the general fund budget of the Office of Coastal and Environmental Affairs at a cost of approximately $15,000.
In 2014, more than 12,000 Christmas trees were collected in Orleans Parish after the holidays and airlifted by the Louisiana National Guard into the Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge as part of a program to create new marsh habitat.
For more information, residents should call NOLA 3-1-1.
