Where and How to Recycle or Dispose of Christmas Trees in Alberta after Christmas
2023 and in January 2024
In many urban and suburban areas, Christmas trees are collected from curbside during the first 2 weeks in January. Be sure to remove all
remove all lights, wire, tinsel, ornaments, nails, stands, other
NON-Organic decorative materials and other materials that are not part
of the original tree. This includes tree stands also. Flocked trees are usually accepted, but not artificial trees. Large trees (larger
than the standard 6 - 7 ft tree) may need to be cut in half to
be acceptable by your
garbage hauler. But scrroll down this page for more specific
information and local links.
What happens to the trees? In most cases, the trees are chipped and made into a mulch
which is usually made available, free to city or county residents.
Important: Never burn your Christmas tree in a fireplace or wood stove.
Burning the tree may contribute to creosote buildup and could cause a
chimney fire.
Tips: Always follow the links (usually the name of the city or county) below for updated information, as these agencies often wait until the last minute to change dates or
update their information (it's government, remember?). If your area is
not specifically mentioned below, contact your trash collection agency and inquire!
Related information:
See this page for local options to easily recycle your Christmas holiday lights
If it has just snowed; see
this page about how to make snocones from real snow!
Your kids will love it!
Click here for the list of winter sleigh ride locations!
See our easy recipes to
make a
Chocolate Yule log
and
click here to make your own low-fat,
low calorie but delicious Egg Nog
! Then come back to our
other website in March to
find a
local Easter Egg Hunt for your children
! There are affiliate links on this page. Read our disclosure policy to learn more.
Alberta: Where and How to Recycle Your Christmas Tree After the Holidays January 2024
Local municipality tree recycling Information
I'm working on this now! If you have any links to city or other local Christmas tree recycling, curbside pickup, etc., please let me
know!
Click here to write to me!
Calgary
Calgary - curbside collection or drop-off at a
recycling center
Learn how to recycle old live Christmas trees and dispose of artificial ones.
- Recycling Artificial Christmas trees
- Recycling real Christmas trees Curbside
- In your green cart - Put your cut up tree in your green cart
Remove all
lights, ornaments, tinsel and tree stand; Cut your tree into small pieces, and place in your green cart (making sure the lid can close).
If
your green cart is full:
Put cut branches in paper yard waste bags and roll tops closed. Set bags 0.5 metres (2 feet) from side of your cart.
Please note: Trees that are not prepared properly will not be collected.
Drop-off your tree:
Christmas tree drop-off locations are
open from December 26 to January 31.
Just take your whole tree to a temporary drop off location for free.
** This program is for
residential use only.
Remove all ornaments, lights, garland, tinsel and tree stands
Do not wrap, tie or bag your tree, even if the bag is
labelled as compostable or biodegradable
If you wrap or bag your tree to transport it, remove the bag before dropping off
Christmas
tree drop-off locations:
Auburn Bay Off-Leash Area - 52nd St and Auburn Bay Dr S.E.
Bottomlands Park - St. George's Drive N.E. (soccer
field parking lot)
Bowness - 7937 43 Ave N.W. (in lot behind building)
Braeside Park - 256 Brookpark Drive S.W.
Confederation Park -
905 30 Ave N.W. (east parking lot)
Huntington Hills Athletic Park - 7920 4th St. at Huntstrom Dr. N.E.
IKEA - 8000 11 Street S.E.
(northwest corner of parking lot behind store)
Marda Loop Communities Association - 3130 16th Street S.W.
North Glenmore Park - 6615 37
Street S.W. (Weaselhead parking lot)
Park 96 - 14660 Parkland Blvd S.E.
Pop Davies/ Ogden Athletic Park - Ogden Rd & Millican Rd SE
Prairie Winds Park - 44 St. and 54 Ave N.E. (south parking lot)
Sacramento Parks Depot - 10400 Sacramento Drive S.W.
Cargary City landfill locations - If you bring any garbage along with your tree then your load will be subject to
Calgary regular landfill fees.
Edmonton
- Edmonton - Curbside
collection
Collection of natural Christmas trees starts usually the first Monday AFTER New Year's Day
Phone, In Edmonton: 311
Outside Edmonton: 780-442-5311
Email [email protected].
Houses
Residents are asked to place their un-bagged tree on its side next to their
waste collection area by 7am on Monday January 10.
Trees may be picked up as late as January 24 (weather dependent) and not necessarily on
residents' regularly scheduled collection days. Please ensure the tree remains clear of snow and ice for ease of pick up.
For Christmas
trees to be acceptable for composting, all ornaments, tinsel, garlands, nails, screws and tree stands must be removed. Large trees should be cut
into two-metre (6.5 foot) lengths.
Apartment and Condo Residents
Apartment and condo residents can drop off their natural Christmas
tree for free at a Recycling Depot from Tuesday December 26 until Monday near the end of January or an Eco Station anytime during the year.
Christmas trees should not be placed in or beside apartment recycling or waste bins.
Lethbridge
- Lethbridge - curbside
collection or drop-off at a recycling center
Curbside collection
The Christmas Tree Recycling Program runs annually in
mid-January
Put your tree at your regular garbage collection location (front or alley) but away from your
waste collection cart. Please ensure that all decorations, tinsel and lights are removed from your tree.
**Please note: Your Christmas tree
may be collected over a couple days.**
Was your Christmas Tree not picked-up?
- Incorrectly/late placed trees - By 7:00 Saturday, it should be in your alley or front of house, based on where your garbage is
collected. The fundraising youth groups follow maps based on that information.
- Decorations, tinsel, plastic, tree stands not removed - the trees must be totally bare to be ready for the chipper. We instruct the
fundraising groups to leave these trees so they do not damage the equipment.
- Human error (missed) - While we expect the youth groups to be thorough, we also recognize that they're not professional operations
crews. Please contact 311 if this is the case. Thanks for your patience!
Phone: 311 or 403-320-3111 (if outside of Lethbridge)
Drop-off Trees
bring your tree to the Waste & Recycling Centre,
Monday to Saturday. Residents may choose to use a Large Item Service and schedule a time to have their Christmas trees picked up (trees
collected with this option will be disposed of with regular waste). Yard Waste Sites are closed between November 16 - March 31.
Medicine Hat
- City of Medicine Hat - cdrop-off at a recycling center
They have 3 tree
disposal locations around the city open until the end of January.
The locations are at
240 Kipling St. SE,
172 Altawana Dr. NE and
the Medicine Hat Mall parking lot near Best Buy.
People are asked to drop off just the tree, with no plastic bags, decorations or
tree stands.
Red Deer
- Red Deer
- curbside collection or drop-off at a recycling center
In "normal" years, the Red Deer firefighters collects trees from curbside. There's no
update as of mid-December, but check the link at left.
If they do not collect curbside this year, residents can dispose of their
Christmas tree in one of the following ways:
Cut it up and place it into your Green Cart. Please ensure to not exceed the max weight
of the Cart.
Small carts have a limit of 59 kg/130 lbs
Medium carts have a limit of 109 kg/240 lbs
Extra Large carts have a limit of
152 kg/335 lbs
Drop it off at the Waste Management Facility
located at 1709-40 Avenue. A minimum fee of $7 will apply.
Donate their tree to the Medicine River Wildlife Centre, where it will be
repurposed for their animals. Trees must be free of decorations or anything that may harm animals. Pick-up service is not available; residents
can drop off their trees at the parking lot of the Medicine River Wildlife Centre, located in Spruceview. Directions are available on their
website
Residents are asked to refrain from leaving trees in the locations provided in previous years.
Details about fees and hours of
operation for theWaste Management Red Deer Facility can be found on their website.