From that special holiday spirit the season holds to the possibility of snow on a cold winter’s night, December is a time of magic for many. It’s also a time of year when the elves of Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful make preparations to create a little magic of our own. As the Christmas carols fade and the last of the presents under the tree have been opened, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful and our friends at Gwinnett County Fire, Department of Transportation, Parks & Recreation, Jackson EMC, and Walton EMC begin collecting live Christmas trees through the annual Bring One for the Chipper program. For weeks, Gwinnettians drop their live trees off at participating fire stations throughout the county, culminating in a special event hosted at Bethesda Park on January 27, 2024, when those trees are magically transformed into mulch to be used to line pathways and landscaping beds in Gwinnett County parks.

Why Is That Important?

According to the National Christmas Tree Association, roughly 25-30 million live Christmas trees are sold in the U.S. each year. They are an excellent renewable resource. For every tree harvested, one to three seedlings take their place the following spring. While growing, they support life by absorbing carbon dioxide and emitting fresh oxygen. They stabilize the soil, protect water supplies, and provide refuge for wildlife. The industry that grows them employs an estimated 100,000 people each year.  

The average growing time for a six-foot tree is seven years, but it may take far longer than that for the tree to decompose in a landfill. Often, landfills are tightly packed – making it difficult for the trees to break down. Meanwhile, an environmentally harmful greenhouse gas, methane, is released, contributing to climate change.

One of the most environmentally-friendly methods for disposing of a live Christmas tree is treecycling – a fancy term for chipping the tree into mulch. 

The Environmental Benefits of Mulch

Once chipped into mulch, Christmas trees are granted a new life. According to the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, mulch has several impactful benefits to the walking paths and flowerbeds where it is laid:

• It reduces weed growth 
• It conserves water by retaining moisture in the soil 
• It protects plants by insulating the soil against the summer heat 
• It improves the aesthetics of the flower bed

Three Things You Need to Know

1. If you live in Gwinnett County and plan to get a live Christmas tree this year, you’ll first want to know WHERE to drop off your live Christmas tree. Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful and its partners will collect live trees at participating fire departments throughout the county from December 26, 2023, to January 24, 2024. CLICK HERE for the complete list of drop-off locations and addresses.
2. Before dropping off your tree to be treecycled, you must remove all lights, tinsel, decorations, and tree stands.
3. Volunteers are being sought for the BIG DAY on Saturday, January 27, to literally “bring one for the chipper” – helping haul live trees to the wood chipper. The 2024 Bring One for the Chipper event will be hosted near the soccer fields at Bethesda Park, at 225 Bethesda Church Road in Lawrenceville, from 8-11 a.m. Volunteers must be 14 years of age or older and should wear weather-appropriate clothing they won’t mind getting dirty, including long pants and thick-soled, closed-toed shoes. You must bring your printed and signed Volunteer Waiver on the day of the event. CLICK HERE to register as a volunteer.