Salt Lake County urges Christmas tree recycling

The winter holiday season brings with it times of laughter, joy, and tons of garbage.

The Salt Lake County Recycling Information Office estimates that this time of year trash volume increases by 25 percent. And that more than 28 billion pounds of leftover food, 38,000 miles of ribbon, and 4.4 million pounds of holiday cards are thrown into the garbage.

To help reduce the amount of waste generated by the holidays, the Salt Lake Valley Solid Waste Facility's Information Office put together a guide on Christmas tree recycling efforts across the county.

The guide can be found at www.recycle.slco.org.

They request that all lights, decorations and twine be removed. Trees that are flocked or are in plastic bags will not be accepted.

Collected trees will be composted by the Salt Lake County landfill and will be available for county residents to use in approximately three months.