After the wrapping paper is picked up, the tinsel is vacuumed and all that’s left is the tree, finding a place to dispose of your fir can be daunting. Thankfully, several parishes in the New Orleans metro area have a quick system designed to pick up the discarded trees and use them to fight coastal erosion.

Christmas tree recycling programs have existed for decades in the area. After residents return their trees to their parish, experts determine where to place them to help protect the coast while minimizing tree-induced hazards. 

By sifting sediment flowing in the water, the tree’s roots help collect enough of it to form new land, once the sediment settles and the roots firm up. 

How it started

The initiative began in the 1980s amid a national movement to recycle Christmas trees. Local government leaders, as well as LSU scientists and environmental groups such as the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana (CRCL), sought to repurpose old firs that would have otherwise gone to landfills.

An LSU graduate student from the Netherlands, Roelef Boumans, first introduced the idea, which had long been used in his home country. 

The eventual success of the program led more than a dozen coastal parishes to adopt their own tree recycling efforts. 

This will be the 35th year that Jefferson Parish will collect firs. Michelle Gonzales, Jefferson Parish’s director of ecosystems and coastal management, said the project has since helped establish over 1,300 feet of fences that help absorb and soften waves, thus reducing erosion.

Now, over 2,000 feet of shoreline is protected from daily wave action by the fences. Gonzales said the program has directly impacted more than 20 acres in the Barataria Basin.

For the past five years, the program has collected between 2,000 to 4,000 trees each year, according to Gonzales. 

Orleans Parish has had its own Christmas tree recycling program for the last 26 years, contributing to the restoration of 200 football fields-worth of marsh in the Bayou Sauvage Urban National Wildlife Refuge in New Orleans East.

In addition to storm and erosion protection, the trees also create habitat for crabs, crawfish, birds, shrimp and fish. 

“I feel like so often when we talk about coastal restoration, you just hear the statistics and all you can do is be aware and be bummed out,” Cheryn Robles, environmental administrator for the city’s Office of Resilience and Sustainability, said. “This is an opportunity to be engaged.” 

This year, Orleans Parish is aiming to collect 8,000 trees, the same figure as last year. Hitting the mark could be more difficult, however, because most of the Christmas trees come to the area from North Carolina, where damage from Hurricane Helene led to fewer trees and cost increases. 

“It was just harder to get trees this year,” Robles said.

For the first time this year, the parish began collecting trees on Dec. 26. Usually, recycling begins on Jan. 6, the day of Epiphany. Residents can call 311 to get curbside tree pickup for the first 400 trees. In collaborating with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Louisiana Army National Guard, Robles said the program is aiming to drop the trees sometime in March, around Earth Day. 

In a related project not open to the public, CRCL recycled wreaths last year in partnership with the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, which had placed 1,300 wreaths at Chalmette National Cemetery.

The coastal group then worked with students at the University of New Orleans to string the wreaths together and anchor them to the floor of Quarantine Bay in Plaquemines Parish, to encourage sediment build up. CRCL plans to continue the project this season, with over 3,000 wreaths. 

Other places around the country also use Christmas trees for various restoration initiatives. In Wisconsin, the firs are placed in lakes to improve fish habitats. Ohio also uses trees to halt erosion by dropping them in stream banks. Some areas, like Massachusetts, use the trees to build beach dunes. 

How to recycle your tree

Orleans Parish

From Dec. 26 through Jan. 3, you can call 311 to request curbside pickup. 

For scheduled pickup, place your trees on the curb by 5 a.m. Jan. 6 through Jan. 10.

You can also drop off your trees from Dec. 26 to Jan. 5 at 2930 Lafitte Ave. or Bodenger Park, 3400 Kansas St.

Residents in the French Quarter and Downtown Development District should place their trees on the curb by 4 a.m. on Jan. 9. 

Jefferson Parish

You can either place your tree on the curb outside your home on Jan. 8, or bring it to a drop-off site. 

Curb pick-up will occur Jan. 9 through Jan. 11. 

If you want to cherish your tree for a bit longer, you can drop it off at 400 David Drive, Metairie or 6440 Lapalco Boulevard, Marrero from Jan. 4 through Jan. 14.

The Jefferson Parish Christmas tree recycling drop event will take place on January 25 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. behind Cochiara’s Marina in Lafitte. Volunteers under 18 can sign up here and adults can sign up here. 

St. Tammany Parish

St. Tammany typically runs a tree-recycling program. Details for this year have not yet been released. Stay tuned for updates.

St. Charles Parish

Starting Dec. 30, residents can drop off their trees at the Ormond Sandbag Location (next to 1901 Ormond Blvd in Destrehan), and The West Bank Bridge Park in Luling until Jan. 16.

Trees can also be placed curbside from Jan. 13 to Jan. 17 for collection.  

To recycle your tree, make sure it meets the following guidelines:

• No flocked trees
• No artificial trees
• No painted trees
• No lights, garland, tinsel, ornaments, tree stands or plastic bags