Shred a tree, help save the environment

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OK, Christmas is over. The children are busy with their new toys and you're faced with that perennial dilemma -- what to do with your live Christmas tree.

The Springs Preserve has the answer. It has partnered with various agencies, organizations and private companies for a valleywide tree recycling effort.

Typically, municipalities across the country recycle about 93 percent of their holiday trees.

"In Las Vegas, it's barely inching up to 3 percent," said Marcel Parent, who heads the preserve's education and volunteerism program. "It's an embarrassing statistic. We have no illusions. We're not going to go from 3 (percent) to 90 percent in one year. But if we increase to 5 percent, we're doing well."

Since the recycling program began in 2001, the numbers have taken a haphazard course. From December 2001 to January 2002, there were 3,363 trees recycled, according to statistics from www.earth911.org's national survey.

In 2002-03, valley residents and businesses turned in 3,000 trees. In 2003-04, the numbers slipped to 2,800. In 2004-05, after a drive to get the word out, the numbers jumped to 8,791 trees.

Leading up to this year's holiday was another campaign, with the goal of recycling 10,000 trees. The slogan was "Give your community a gift -- recycle your tree."

Besides using media sources, the preserve and its allies placed posters at the estimated 300 tree vendors and stores. The preserve has 19 drop sites throughout the city. It also approached multiple-housing neighborhoods, asking for cooperation.

At least one valley resident applauded the effort. But then, her household already is conscious of keeping the Earth clean, she said.

"My husband's Swedish, and he's psychotic about recycling," Vicki Pettersson said. "They recycle about 90 percent of everything they use, like, even the potato peels."

In Summerlin, the drop off sites are The Gardens at Springs Preserve, 3701 W. Alta Drive; Bruce Trent Park, 8851 Vegas Drive; Desert Breeze Park, 8275 Spring Mountain Road; and R.C. Willey, 3850 S. Town Center Drive.

Some drop-off places will accept trees until Jan. 15. Visit www.springspreserve.org for more information.

Trees must be free of decorations, tinsel, wires, nails and anything nature doesn't provide or they will ruin the chipping machines and create a safety hazard for the volunteers.

If you sprayed flock on your tree, don't bother to take it to the drop-off locations. Flocking a tree renders it nonrecyclable.

Six companies will run the trees through chippers and collect the resulting mulch material.

The chipped trees provide mulch for landscaping projects that help contain moisture for plants. When the mulch disintegrates, it provides nutrients for the soil.

"Nothing is wasted," Parent said. "We bring it right back to the earth."