Holiday Recycling Guide: How to Recycle Trees, Lights, and More
Once the holidays wind down, it’s important to dispose of trees, lights, and decorations properly so they can be recycled and kept out of the landfill. Use this guide to prepare your items and find the right recycling options in San Mateo County.
How to Prepare Your Christmas Tree for Recycling
Proper preparation ensures your tree can be composted or recycled. Whether you get your tree picked up or drop it off yourself, follow these general guidelines:
- Remove all stands, lights, tinsel, ornaments, and decorations.
- Place trees curbside on your regular yard waste or compost service day.
- Flocked trees (trees with fake snow) cannot be composted at most facilities. Place them in your waste bin, cut into pieces.
- Do not bag your tree. Trees left in bags will not be recycled.
- Cut larger trees into shorter pieces if required by your service provider.
- Multi-family residents must call customer service to arrange an on-site pick-up location.
- If you rented your tree with Rent a Living Christmas Tree, leave it curbside in one piece for pickup.
- Wreaths can be placed in your green bin for composting.
Tree Pick Up & Service Providers
Many companies provide curbside pick-up services for Christmas trees and often schedule it into their normal weekly routes. Some providers specify how to prepare trees for pickup or have slightly different pick-up times, so make sure to see below what your provider requires.
|
SERVICE PROVIDER |
DATES ACCEPTED |
SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS |
| Republic Services of Daly City 650-756-1130 Serves Daly City, Broadmoor, Unincorporated Colma, and Colma |
December 26 – January 15 | Trees must be cut into 4ft lengths. Place tree at the curb next to your compost bin. After January 15, trees must be cut up and placed inside compost bin. |
| Republic Services of Half Moon Bay 650-592-2411 |
December 26 – January 15 | Trees must be cut into 4ft lengths. Place tree at the curb next to your compost bin. After January 15, trees must be cut up and placed inside compost bin. |
| Kunz Valley Trash and Recycling (Unincorporated San Mateo County) 1-831-338-9050 |
January 17 | Trees must be cut into 3 pieces. Please call or email for pick up. |
| GreenWaste Recovery, Atherton 650-798-5999 |
December 26 – End of January | All trees must be placed curbside, next to your compost bin, regardless of on-property service.
Must be cut into pieces, no larger than 6ft. |
| GreenWaste Recovery, Woodside and Portola Valley 650-568-9900 |
December 26 – January 25 | All trees must be placed curbside next to compost bin, regardless of on-property service.
Must be cut into pieces, no larger than 5ft. |
| GreenWaste Recovery, Unincorporated Woodside and Unincorporated Portola Valley 650-568-9900 |
December 26 – February 2 | Must call to arrange holiday tree pick up for an extra fee. All trees must be placed curbside, next to your grey cart.
Must be cut into pieces, no larger than 4ft. |
| Recology of the Coast, Serves Pacifica as well as El Granada, Pillar Pt, Miramar, Princeton, Montara, Moss Beach, and Unincorporated Half Moon Bay 650-355-9000 |
December 26 – January 30
|
Must call customer service to schedule tree removal for an extra fee. All trees must be placed curbside by 5 am.
Must be cut into pieces, no larger than 4ft. Commercial trees must be cut up and placed in your gray cart. |
| Recology San Bruno 650-583-8536 |
January 5 – January 16
|
Trees will be collected on your regular collection day and should be placed next to your green compost bin. Flocked trees are not accepted in Recology’s compost program and must be bagged and placed next to your green compost cart.
Trees collected before January 6th and after January 17th, will need to be placed inside the compost bin in pieces no larger than 3ft. |
| Recology San Mateo County 650-595-3900 Serves Belmont, Burlingame, East Palo Alto, Foster City, Hillsborough, Menlo Park, Redwood City, San Carlos, San Mateo, the West Bay Sanitary District, Ladera and Unincorporated County Areas within the Rethink Waste Service Area (Baywood Park, Burlingame Hills, Devonshire Canyon, Emerald Lake Hills, Harbor Industrial, Kensington Square, North Fair Oaks, Oak Knoll, Peninsula Golf Club, Palomar Park, San Mateo Highlands, Sequoia Tract and Trailer Ranchero). |
January 2 – January 31
|
Trees will be collected between January 2nd and January 31st, on your regular collection day, and should be placed next to your green compost bin.
Trees may be up to 8ft in length. After January 31st, please cut the tree to fit inside the compost cart. |
| South San Francisco Scavenger Company Inc. 650-589-4020Serves Brisbane, Millbrae, and South San Francisco. |
Any time.
|
SSF Scavenger collects holiday trees from single-family homes for no charge. Cut tree in half if taller than 6 feet. Place tree at the curb by 5am on your regular collection day. After January, please cut up tree and place in your green bin or contact us for special collection.
Note that flocked trees cannot be placed in your green bin but can be collected at the curb. Residents of multifamily residential complexes should have the property owner or manager contact SSF Scavenger to schedule a tree collection day for the entire complex. |
Tree Drop-Off Locations
If curbside service isn’t available, you can bring your tree to a local drop-off site. Fees may apply and flocked trees are accepted as garbage only. Remember to follow the general guidelines before you deliver your tree!
| DROP OFF LOCATIONS | WHEN | WHERE |
| Blue Line Transfer Station Inc.
650-589-4020 |
Monday – Friday 6:30 am -4:30 pm;Saturday 8:00 am-4:30 pm |
500 East Jamie Court, South San Francisco |
| Ox Mountain Landfill
650-726-1819 |
Monday – Saturday 8:00 am – 4:30 pm |
12310 San Mateo Road, Half Moon Bay |
| Pescadero Transfer Station
650-592-2411 |
Thursday 10:00 am – 12:30 pmFriday 12:30 pm – 5:30pmSaturday 9:00 am – 4:30 pm |
921 Bean Hollow Road, Pescadero |
| Shoreway Environmental Center
650-802-8355 |
Monday-Friday 6:00 am – 6:00 pmSaturday 8:00 am – 5:00 pm |
333 Shoreway Road, San Carlos |
Holiday Lights Recycling
If your lights are still working, keep on using them every year! Reusing is always the best option before recycling. If only a few lights are out, switch out the dead bulbs for new ones. However, when the whole string of lights inevitably does go out, there are many recycling options you can choose. Holiday lights cannot go in curbside recycling bins, but the following locations accept them for proper recycling:
Recycling fees apply.
1576 Rollins Road, Burlingame, CA 94010
1-877-918-8900 x103 or 650-493-8700 x103
Accepts both regular and LED light strands at no charge. Offers discounts on new light orders. Ship your strands using the cheapest, slowest method!
Holiday LEDS Recycling
W227N6225 Sussex Road, Door #12
Sussex, WI 53089
What to Do When New Gifts Replace Old Items
After the holidays, it’s common to reorganize or replace older items with newly received gifts, especially things like toys, clothes, and household products. Instead of throwing usable items away:
- Donate gently used items to local thrift stores so they can be reused. Toys and clothes are great secondhand treasures!
- Visit RecycleStuff.org to find local organizations that accept reusable household goods, clothing, toys, appliances, and other items.
What to Do with Dead Batteries
Similarly, you might come across old batteries when reorganizing your household items. Whether you’re replacing batteries or simply cleaning out your junk drawer, it’s important to keep batteries out of the landfill because they contain toxic and potentially hazardous materials. For more info on how to recycle any kind of electronics, visit Electronics Recycling – Sustainability Department – San Mateo County.
Follow these battery safety tips before drop-off:
- Tape the terminals of lithium-ion and rechargeable batteries before drop-off.
- Store batteries in a non-metal container until you’re ready to recycle them.
Visit Recycle Batteries Right – San Mateo County Health for a comprehensive guide for recycling batteries in SMC.
Whether you go all out or like to keep it simple for the holidays, we hope these tips can help you responsibly clean up your holiday decorations. To learn more about recycling and composting, visit Waste Reduction – Sustainability Department – San Mateo County.
