British Columbia: Where and How to Recycle Your Christmas Tree After the Holidays January 2024

Scroll down this page for local British Columbia recycling and responsible disposal options for holiday waste, from Christmas trees and wreathes, to lights, ornaments, wrapping and packaging. Many towns and cities offer curbside collection, even for Christmas trees. Counties and unicorporated areas typically have a number or drop-off locations.

Christmas trees are usually colllected from December 26th through the first 2 or 3 weeks in January.  Whether your tree is picked up from your curb, or you drop it off, be sure to remove all  remove all lights, wire, tinsel, ornaments, nails, stands,  other NON-Organic decorative materials and other materials that are not part of the original tree. This includes tree stands also.  Flocked trees are occasionally accepted (call to verify), but not artificial trees. Large trees (larger than the standard 6 - 7 ft tree) may need to be cut in half to be acceptable by your curbside garbage hauler.

The trees and wreathes are usually chipped and made into a mulch which is often made available, free to city or county residents.

Recycling other items:

• See this page for local options to easily recycle your Christmas holiday lights
• To find out how to recycle almost any other type of Christmas holiday waste from wrapping paper to toys and electronics, see this page. Ornaments and light strings are usually placed into your curbside collection bin. Some localities have year-round collection centers. The same is true of wrapping paper and boxes. 

Always follow the links (usually the blue, underlined name of the city or county) below for updated information, as these agencies often wait until the last minute to change dates or update their information. If your area is not specifically mentioned below, call your trash collection agency and ask!

British Columbia: Where and How to Recycle Your Christmas Tree After the Holidays January 2024

Local municipality tree recycling Information

I'm working on this now! If you have any links to city or other local Christmas tree recycling, curbside pickup, etc., please let me know!

Click here to write to me!

British Columbia Local Christmas Tree Recycling Options

Vancouver

• IMPORTANT NOTE: In 2020 many Vancouver city tree chipping events cancelled over COVID fears. Who knows how long this will go on? They may cancel it again, so be sure to follow the link to the city's website to see what new and fun policies they will have this year! If chipping events are cancelled, you either have to drop off trees off at a transfer station or place it on the curb in time for tree pick-up day. Of course, you can also chop the tree up pit it in your green bin.
• City of Vancouver Curb-side Residential Tree Pick Up - Usually, the second weekend in January
  Put your tree out before 7 am on on Collection day. Remove all decorations, lights, tinsel. Trees should be set out and laid on its side. Do not put whole trees inside your Green Bin or in a bag. Artificial trees are not collected (except when completely snide the trash bin)
• Cut up and placed inside Green Bin -
  You can cut up your Christmas tree into small pieces and place in your green bin for regular pickup.
  Pieces should be less than 50 cm in length (18 in) and less than 10 cm (4 in) in diameter. Be sure the green bin is loosely packed and the lid closes completely.
• Lions Club Chipping Events - Early January, usually the first weekend after New Year's Day, from 10 am to 4 pm (see their website to confirm the dates)
  Residents can bring their trees to one of four Lions Club chipping events for chipping and composting. Donations of cash and non-perishable food items are welcome.
  Kerrisdale Community Ice Rink parking lot - 5670 E Blvd, north of 41st Ave
  Sunset Beach upper parking lot - Beach Ave and Broughton St
  Kitsilano Beach parking lot - Cornwall Ave and Arbutus St
  Trout Lake Community Centre parking lot - 3360 Victoria Drive south of 12th Avenue
• UBC Tree Recycling Botanical Garden - December 26 to approximately January 7th
  Take your tree to UBC. Follow the signs and place your tree behind the orange posts. They will be chipped into mulch and used on garden trails. A suggested donation of $5 is appreciated. All proceeds will support the SPEC School Gardens Program at Thunderbird Elementary School.
• Vancouver Christmas Tree Drop-off - until January 31 at both locations below:
  Vancouver South Transfer Station, 377 West Kent Avenue,
  North or the Vancouver Landfill, 5400 72nd Street, Delta.
  Christmas trees can be dropped off at no charge. For directions and operating hours go to landfill or transfer station. Note The Vancouver Landfill and Vancouver South Transfer Station are closed on Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

Victoria

• Victoria - Drop-off at a recycling center
  See the Victoria list of recycling centers and waste depots.

Other areas of British Columbia

These will be updated as soon as this years details are announced (late December)

• Alberni-Clayoquot
• Bulkley-Nechako
• Capital
• Cariboo
• Central Coast
• Central Kootenay
• Central Okanagan
• Columbia-Shuswap
• Comox Valley
• Cowichan Valley
• East Kootenay
• Fraser Valley
• Fraser-Fort George
• Metro Vancouver
• Kitimat-Stikine
• Kootenay-Boundary
• Mount Waddington
• Nanaimo
• North Okanagan
• Northern Rockies
• Okanagan-Similkameen
• Peace River
• Qathet Regional District
• North Coast Regional District
• Sunshine Coast
• Thompson-Nicola

This website has a some other info and options.

For Easter egg Hunts, Children's Consignment Sales, Local Farm Markets and other types of Farms, click here.