With the hustle and bustle of the holidays now a distant memory, the time has come for Londoners to drag their old Christmas trees to the curb.
Curbside collection of the drooping evergreens is slated to begin on Monday. The city is asking residents to have their trees placed within one metre of the curb by 7 a.m. to ensure they are not missed by crews.
"We will go through all neighbourhoods only once during the one week period," said Jay Stanford, director of environment, fleet and solid waste for the city.
Residents are asked to make sure that all decorations, tinsel, garland, tree skirts, and lights have been removed before leaving trees at the curb. Those in plastic bags will not be collected.
This is the third year the city has offered the curbside pick-up that sees the trees chipped and composted instead of being sent to landfills.
"Over the next one to two weeks, we'll collect anywhere between 12,000 to 13,000 Christmas trees," said Stanford. "Overall I think many residents are happy they have the opportunity to place it at the curb, just like they do with their regular leaf and brush material."
Anyone who misses the tree pick-up can bring their tree to any of the city’s four EnviroDepots or temporarily place it in their backyards to provide winter protection for birds.
"We always encourage Londoners to think about keeping that tree in their backyard for as long as possible," said Stanford. "You get a little more use out of it by looking at it, but at the same time it provides habitat for birds in the winter... then when our Green Weeks program starts up again in late March there is another opportunity to get it to the curb."
