Los Angeles residents can prepare natural trees for dumpster pickup; home pickup of larger trees is also available upon request

A natural Christmas tree occupies a very important place during the holidays, in a place of honor within a residence, it is also important to give it a dignified farewell to the home and not end up abandoned in a vacant lot.

The City of Los Angeles offers several alternatives for recycling natural Christmas trees, which you can consider well in advance of saying goodbye to a worthy holiday visitor.

The Los Angeles Department of Sanitation and Environment launched its Christmas tree recycling program as a resource for city residents to recycle natural trees in a proper, safe and environmentally friendly manner.

As a first step, the authorities ask people to remove all ornaments, tinsel and lights that were installed on the trees before starting the recycling process.

The trees should then be cut into pieces, if necessary, to fit into the green recycling container, and the last step is to place the pieces inside the container and take it out for regular collection.

In the event that the tree is too large to cut down and place inside the dumpster, sanitation officials asked that it be placed at the curb on collection day.

Flocked and artificial trees cannot be recycled, so they need to be placed in the black container to be transported to a landfill.

Christmas tree drop-off sites are scheduled for Sunday, January 7, 2024, and will only be available on this date. The sites are scheduled to be set up at:

  • Los Angeles Zoo Parking Lot
  • Rancho Cienega Recreation Center, in Baldwin Hills
  • Balboa Sports Center in Encino
  • Cheviot Hills Recreation Center, Rancho Park
  • Sunland Park in Sunland
  • Westchester Municipal Building in Westchester

There are three ways to request Christmas tree pickup:

  • Contact the Los Angeles Department of Sanitation and Environment’s customer service center at 1-800-773-2489.
  • Log into the MYLA311 application, create a “bulky item” ticket and select “Christmas tree” from the menu.
  • Make a request on the department’s website at this link, under the green Service Request tab, create a “bulky items” ticket and select “Christmas tree” from the menu.

Some Los Angeles Fire Department stations also serve as Christmas tree receiving locations through January 12, 2024. The stations are: 3, 21, 28, 29, 36, 36, 44, 64, 64, 65, 77, 81, 88, 94 and 106.

Two centers will also be held at Lake View Terrace and San Pedro, through Jan. 31.

Christmas Tree Recycling in Los Angeles County

Beginning Tuesday, Dec. 26, residents can place their natural Christmas trees at curbside recycling and waste containers on scheduled trash collection days during the next two weeks, the Los Angeles County Department of Works said.

In addition, several sites are also available for residents to drop off their natural Christmas trees.

People are asked to turn in their trees without ornaments and plastic containers, as well as plastic or metal tree stands.

Plastic-wrapped trees and artificial Christmas trees will not be accepted at the collection centers.

For recycling rules, as well as specific drop-off dates and locations in the incorporated and unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, please refer to this link.

For additional information about Christmas tree recycling, as well as environmental programs offering services in Los Angeles County, you can call 1-888-253-2652 between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday.

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