Bring your Christmas trees, electronics and cardboard to annual community recycling event

Many of us this year have enjoyed being extra festive to offset the feelings of 2020. Being festive could mean ending the holiday with a chunk of trash that we have to handle though, so it’s good to have a plan for what to do with it before the holiday is over. Start the new year off on good terms by gathering up your tree, cardboard and electronics to be recycled.

Whitfield County residents are invited drop off live, natural Christmas trees, cardboard and used electronic devices for recycling at the community’s annual Christmas Tree and Electronics Recycling event. On Saturday, Jan. 9, Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful volunteers will be collecting live, natural, undecorated Christmas trees and electronic devices from 8 a.m. to noon at The Home Depot parking lot at 875 Shugart Road in Dalton. Participants may receive a packet of seeds to use in their spring garden.

New to this year, residents can also bring flattened-out cardboard boxes. People have online ordered in record numbers this year so we know the cardboard will be piling up under the tree. Flatten out your boxes and bring them along to the event to save yourself an extra trip to the convenience center. Remember, if the box is not flattened or is too big for your curbside container, curbside recycling can’t accept it!

There is no charge for dropping off live, natural Christmas trees. Trees must be free of ornaments, nails, hooks, wire, tinsel, lights, and other decorations. Only natural, live, real trees will be accepted — no artificial trees, please. Trees will be recycled on site into mulch that will be used for beautification projects throughout Whitfield County.

If you are using an artificial tree, consider packing it up and using it for multiple years. To balance out the environmental impact of using an artificial tree as opposed to a real one, you need to reuse the artificial one for six to 10 years. If you are planning on getting rid of it, but it is still in good condition consider donating it to The Salvation Army or Providence Ministries.

Along with your real Christmas tree, bring down any old electronics you have. The Environmental Protection Agency has stated that every 1 million cellphones contain 772 pounds of silver and 75 pounds of gold. By bringing your electronics to be recycled, you keep precious metals from being buried in a landfill and keep the supply up. This also helps keep lithium ion batteries, which are present in most electronics, out of the standard waste stream so they can be disposed of properly.

Please note that there is a $10 fee for CRT (cathode ray tube) television sets and computer monitors. Cash only, please. However, other electronics can be dropped off for free. These devices include computer consoles, digital cameras, video cameras, cellphones, gaming systems and components, mp3 players, scanners, flat screens, eBook readers, tablets and laptops.

Before going to the event secure your load for cleaner and safer roads. Tie down and put a tarp on items placed in the back of a pick-up truck, trailer, or on the roof of a vehicle.

If you are unable to attend there are several options available year-round for recycling Christmas trees and electronic devices.

• The city of Dalton Public Works Department will collect Christmas trees from the curb for city residents that have garbage collection service through the city. City residents should call (706) 278-7077 to request pick-up. Yard debris is regularly picked up throughout the year every other week.

• The four Convenience Centers managed by the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority have dropoff areas for yard debris that is recycled year-round. These include the McGaughey Chapel, M.L. King Boulevard, Westside and the Old Dixie Highway Landfill and Convenience Centers.

• Electronics are collected for recycling year-round only at the Old Dixie Highway Landfill and Convenience Center. For hours of operation and directions to any of the four Convenience Centers visit www.DWSWA.org or call (706) 277-2545.

Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful, the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority, Whitfield County Public Works and Home Depot join together each year to create this event for residents. For more details about the event, visit www.KeepDaltonWhitfieldBeautiful.org.

Amy Hartline is the recycling and education program coordinator for the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority. Have a recycling question? Contact her at (706) 278-5001 or at ahartline@dwswa.org.