CARLTON COUNTY — Each holiday season, Christmas trees and other holiday greenery are imported to Minnesota from out of state, bringing with them potential invasive insects and pathogens.
Improper disposal is one of the leading ways invasive insects, pathogens and weeds spread from Christmas trees and other holiday greenery, according to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture. To combat this, Carlton County is partaking in the annual Treecycling program, which provides free Christmas drop-off locations throughout the region.
ADVERTISEMENT
“If we don't offer these services, they tend to end up in the forest or the wetlands, and then they can cause issues there,” said Michael Krick, environmental services coordinator for Carlton County.
The program runs through Jan. 31 and provides drop-off locations in Cloquet, Moose Lake and Duluth through partnerships with the Sappi plant in Cloquet and the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District.
Similar to yard waste, Christmas trees are banned from landfills in Minnesota. Krick said providing free drop-off locations helps deter people from tossing their trees in the woods or throwing them in a ditch, requiring the county to clean them up.
“That just is not an efficient nor effective use of taxpayer dollars, so it's easier and more efficient for us to provide those locations than to clean it up after the fact,” Krick said.
Examples of pests transported through Christmas trees and greenery include spongy moth, elongate hemlock scale, round leaf bittersweet, Japanese maple scale, brown marmorated stink bug, spotted lantern fly and boxwood blight, according to the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
According to Krick, Trees tossed in the woods can also become possible forest fire hazards, and trees tossed in wetlands can impact water quality as the tree breaks down.
Trees dropped off at WLSSD are ground up and turned into compost through the facility’s large-scale composting operation. WLSSD cannot take flocked trees. Trees brought to Sappi are burned for fuel, and trees brought to Moose Lake are burned alongside yard waste, Krick said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Before disposing of trees, remove any ornaments, lights, tree stands and tree bags.
Wreaths and other decorative greens can be disposed of in trash cans, according to suggestions from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.
Treecycling drop-off locations and hours
- Sappi, 2201 Ave. B E, Cloquet.
- Moose Lake Compost & Recycling Site, 20 Earl Ellens Drive, Moose Lake. Wednesday-Friday, 2-6 p.m., and Saturday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m.
- WLSSD Materials Recovery Center. 4587 Ridgeview Road, Duluth. Wednesday-Saturday from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
- WLSSD Yard Waste Compost Site. 2626 Courtland St., Duluth. Daily 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
The Trust Project
