People who celebrate Christmas with a live tree can recycle it at one of several sites throughout Westmoreland County, where it will be shredded and used as mulch to beautify community parks.
“Proper disposal of a real tree is beneficial to the environment. In most cases, real trees thrown away with the garbage end up taking up space in a landfill,” which are designed as a dumping site for garbage, not decomposition, said Michael Skapura, executive director of Westmoreland Cleanways, which operates a recycling facility in Unity.
Trees dumped in a landfill take many more years to rot than they would if left in nature, and release methane gas, Skapura said.
Two area organizations hosting tree recycling sites are Boy Scout Troop 239 at Schramm Farms & Orchards, Blank Road in Harrison City, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 8 and 15, and Murrysville-Export Rotary, Windstream parking lot near Giant Eagle Supermarket, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 8 and 15.
Those recycling the trees are to remove all decorations and lights before taking them to the recycling site, including any wrappings used to transport the tree to the drop-off site, Skapura said.
Christmas tree recycling sites
• Armbrust: Jason Wilkinson Nursery, Route 819, Dec. 26-Jan.15; open drop off
• Allegheny Township: 1169 School Road, maintenance building, Dec. 25-Jan.31; open drop off
• Derry Borough: East 1st Ave., borough garage, beside salt shed, Dec. 26-Jan. 31; open drop off
• Derry Township: l5321 Route 982, municipal building outside the gate, Dec. 26-Jan. 31; open drop off
• East Huntingdon: 234 Landfill Road — Greenridge Reclamation Landfill, see scale attendant for directions, Dec. 26-Jan. 7, 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday; closed weekends
• Hempfield Township: Route 136 at Middletown Road, Hempfield Area High School auxiliary parking lot, Dec. 26-Jan. 28; open drop off
• Level Green area: 536 Route 130, Level Green Fire Department, Jan. 1-31; open drop off
• Ligonier: Country Market Field, Lower Watershed Farm, corner of West Main and Springer Road, Dec. 26-Jan. 31; dawn to dusk
• Mt. Pleasant Borough: municipal compost site, between Kennedy Avenue and North Depot Street, Dec. 30-Jan. 31, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday; closed weekends
• North Huntingdon: 12319 Route 30 West, township public works building; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 26-Jan. 31
• Penn Township: Valley Landfill, 6015 Pleasant Valley Road; Dec. 27 -Jan. 31, 6 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday to Friday; closed weekends
• Unity Township: 154 Beatty County Road, municipal building, Jan. 2-31, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday; closed weekends
• Youngwood: 508 South 3rd St. — borough maintenance building behind Hillis Street laundromat, Dec. 27-Jan. 14, 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday to Friday; closed weekends, do not drop trees at gate
Source: Westmoreland Cleanways
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