With the festive season winding down, Calgarians are turning their attention to a practical post-holiday task: what to do with their natural Christmas trees. The City of Calgary has issued clear guidelines for residents, offering two primary methods to ensure these seasonal symbols are disposed of properly and sustainably through composting.
Option One: Green Cart Composting at Home
The most convenient method for many households is to use the city's green composting cart. However, proper preparation is crucial for pickup. All decorations, including tinsel, lights, and ornaments, must be completely removed from the tree first. The tree then needs to be cut into small pieces that will fit inside the cart.
The city emphasizes that the lid must close fully. If the tree is too large or other compostables are taking up space, residents should place the tree pieces in paper yard-waste bags and set them beside the green cart on collection day. The municipality warns that trees not prepared according to these instructions will be left behind, and trees placed in black garbage carts will not be collected.
Option Two: Utilizing City Drop-Off Locations
For those unable to cut up their tree or who prefer an alternative, Calgary provides numerous drop-off sites. Whole trees can be brought to one of 13 temporary locations scattered across the city. The service is available until January 31. As with home composting, all decorations must be stripped from the tree before drop-off.
The city specifies that trees should be left unbagged, untied, and unwrapped, even if a bag is marketed as compostable or biodegradable. The temporary drop-off sites include:
- Auburn Bay Off-Leash Area
- Bottomlands Park
- Bowness (43 Ave. N.W.)
- Braeside Park
- Confederation Park
- Huntington Hills Athletic Park
- IKEA parking lot (11 St. S.E.)
- Marda Loop Communities Association
- North Glenmore Park (Weaselhead parking lot)
- Park 96
- Pop Davies / Ogden Athletic Park
- Prairie Winds Park
- Sacramento Parks Depot
Additionally, all City of Calgary Landfill and Eco Centre locations will accept trees for free until the same January 31 deadline. Residents should note that all city landfills will be closed on New Year's Day.
Environmental Benefits and Additional Items
Composting Christmas trees and other natural holiday decorations provides significant environmental advantages. This process saves valuable space in landfills and transforms the organic material into nutrient-rich compost for soil. Crucially, it also helps reduce the production of harmful greenhouse gas emissions that occur when organic matter decomposes in a landfill without oxygen.
The city notes that the same disposal methods apply to other real evergreen decorations. Real wreaths and garlands can also be composted in the green cart or at drop-off sites, provided all non-organic elements like ribbons, wires, nails, and decorative picks are meticulously removed first.
For more detailed information on what is and isn't accepted in the green cart program, residents are encouraged to visit the official City of Calgary website.
