Howard County residents can recycle live Christmas trees through the county’s Merry Mulch program, in which the once-festive plants will be turned into compost and mulch at the Alpha Ridge Landfill composting facility in Marriottsville rather than being sent to the landfill.

Trees can be placed out for pickup on the proper collection day for those in the county with curbside yard trim collection or left at one of several drop-off locations until Jan. 18, according to the county government website.

All lights, tinsel, garland, ornaments, tree stands, plastic bags or other decor must be removed from the tree.

If leaving a tree out for yard trim collection, it must be cut and tied into bundles fewer than 4 feet long and weighing less than 40 pounds.

Curbside yard trim collection ends after the third Friday in January. Trees can still be left out for garbage collection, but they will be sent to the landfill instead.

If seeking to recycle a tree after the Jan. 18 Merry Mulch deadline, it can be brought directly to the Alpha Ridge Wood Waste Area from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Artificial trees that have metal pieces can also be recycled at the scrap metal area of Alpha Ridge Landfill.

Residents are also encouraged to donate or recycle broken or unwanted holiday lights. Holiday lights cannot go in curbside recycling as the strands jam up the recycling machinery and should instead be brought to the Residents’ Convenience Center at Alpha Ridge Landfill where electronics are recycled year-round.

Each year, Mom’s Organic Market, which has a Howard County location in Jessup, also has a light recycling drive, closing on Jan. 31. For those who can’t make it to a drop-off location, lights can be mailed in for recycling through HolidayLEDS.com.

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