Tree Recycling Provides Way To Help Environment

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Now that the holidays are over, the Christmas tree has to come down.

But volunteers came together to give those trees a chance to give life again at Central City Park in Macon.

The green came in waves.

But the Christmas trees weren’t the only green thoughts on these volunteers minds.

“So we can help the environment and keep all of the trees out of the landfill and give them for people to help with mulch and trails,” said Chip Walker, a Boy Scout.

Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful has partnered with multiple organizations for more than two decades to give Middle Georgia residents a chance to recycle their used Christmas trees.

“It’s the recycling,” said Pam Carswell. “We are working so hard to teach our citizens of our community about recycling. And it’s not just recycling paper and plastic and glass and aluminum, it’s also that we can recycle our trees as well and putting it back on the Earth.”

Recycling trees means making the environment a little healthier, something Pam Carswell, President of Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful, wanted to make easy Saturday morning.

“We work out a system where people can actually drive through,” said Carswell. “They don’t even have to get out of their cars. When they drive through, they drop the trees off. We’re offering free seedlings today–oak trees, the red bud trees.”

The Boy Scouts of Troop 8 also helped, braving the cold on this brutal winter morning.

“Today, I think this year is one of the coldest days that we’ve had ever doing this,” said Carswell.

The Scouts bagged and then handed out the mulch.

“They put the trees in the wood chipper, and we bag up the mulch the trees make and put it in bags to give to people,” said Conner Hutto, another Boy Scout.

And with the environment, every little bit of green counts.

Carswell said Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful’s entire organization is dedicated to events just like this one.

Georgia Power, The Optimists Club and the public works office also helped with the recycling.