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County residents have an opportunity to help Blount County Parks and Recreation department beautify area parks or create a habitat while reducing landfill waste just by recycling their real Christmas trees.

"We will be collecting trees up through Jan. 10 at the Hobby Lobby Parking Lot, anytime, day or night," said Tom Sims, maintenance superintendent for Parks and Rec. "Just drop them off. There is signage right now of places where they can stack them."

Hobby Lobby is located at 505 Foothills Plaza Drive, Maryville. Trees dropped off must be free of lights, nails, wires and decorations before discarded in the lot. If these items are left on the trees, they could either damage the equipment or could end up in the mulch used at a park, and possibly cause injury.

Parks and Rec, Keep Blount Beautiful, Wolf Tree Experts and The Daily Times sponsor this yearly event. According to Sims, the Christmas tree recycling project started about 15 years ago to reduce waste in the landfill and to create mulch to be used in city and county parks. He said he's been involved for about 13 years.

Sims said he expects the location will collect approximately 1,500 trees this year, about the same as last year.

"The amount we collect is not really growing," he said. "I think more and more people go to artificial trees. For the last two or thee years, we've seemed to be about the same volume."

Cities will still pick up at curb

The City of Maryville and City of Alcoa will pick up trees left on the street, though Sims said he strongly suggests residents deliver their discarded trees to the Hobby Lobby location. On the 10th, Wolf Tree Experts representatives will shred the trees.

"Most trees, unless they are big, can be put in the shredder, ground up and turned to mulch," Sims said. The larger trees more than likely will be cut before they are placed in the shredder.

The mulch created by the leftover Christmas trees will be stored at the maintenance facility and will be used next fall. The mulch must age a few months before it can be used in the parks, Sims said. Christmas tree recycling saves about $400 to $500 a year, Sims said. The county spends approximately $6,000 a year on mulch used for both landscaping and playgrounds. This type mulch is used only for landscaping. Mulch used in the playground areas need to be splinter-free. Therefore, the county must purchase it from Kellem's Recycling Inc., in Alcoa.

Some of the trees will be used by Tennessee Wildlife to make habitats for wildlife and for the fish hatchery the organization maintains, Sims said.

As an added bonus, county residents bringing trees or coming to the lot between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 10, will receive free tree seedlings, while supplies last.

"We get them from the Forestry Department," Sims said. "It's kind of an incentive to encourage them to plant trees, to put a tree back in the ground somewhere." The seedlings will be oak and pine, Sims added.

For more information, call 983-9244.