Hillsborough County Florida: Where and How to Recycle Your Christmas Tree After the Holidays January 2024

Scroll down this page for local Hillsborough County Florida 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!

Hillsborough County Florida: Where and How to Recycle Your Christmas Tree After the Holidays January 2024

• Hillsborough County - Click here for locations, updated information and more details.
  Pickup at the Curb - Curbside pickup of live Christmas trees is available to County solid waste customers by following these steps:
  Remove all decorations, lights, and tinsel;
  Cut the tree into sections no larger than 4 feet long and 6 inches in diameter; and
  Place curbside on your regular yard waste collection day.
  Or Drop it Off:
  Hillsborough County solid waste customers can skip the hassle and work of cutting their live Christmas trees into smaller pieces for curbside pickup by taking trees directly to one of the following Yard Waste Processing Facilities:
  346 Falkenburg Road in Tampa
  13001 U.S. 41 in Gibsonton
  8001 W. Linebaugh Ave. in Tampa
  The County's three yard waste sites are open Monday through Saturday from 7:30 am until 5 pm, with the exception of holidays. The sites will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Customers are required to have a photo I.D. and their current property tax bill showing the Hillsborough County Solid Waste Disposal Assessment to access the Yard Waste Processing Facilities, and they must be able to unload the trees themselves. Customers should also remove all decorations, lights, and tinsel. Artificial trees are not accepted at the yard waste sites. For any questions about taking trees to a Yard Waste Processing Facility, call Hillsborough County Solid Waste at (813) 272-5680. Non-county residential solid waste customers can dispose of Christmas trees and other yard waste at a Hillsborough County Yard Waste Processing Facility by paying a tonnage fee.
• Pinellas County - Click here for details -
  it depends which city or town you are in.
• Sarasota County -
  locations, updated information and more details.
• Tampa - Christmas Day Holiday Collection Schedule Click here for locations: Locations, updated information and more details.
  The City of Tampa Department of Solid Waste & Environmental Program Management offers free removal, pick up and recycling of your Christmas tree Christmas Tree Collection Service will occur on
   Monday, December 31st through the second Friday in January.
  In order to receive service, residents must
  - remove all decorations and lights,
  - cut tree limbs to four feet lengths,
  - bundle the cut pieces, and
  - place curbside on their regularly scheduled yard waste collection day.
  
  Your pick-up day will be the regularly-scheduled yard waste collection day(s). Areas without yard waste recycling service, will have trees picked up on the first Thursday and Friday of January
  
  Drop off your tree after the second week in January
  You can deliver your tree to the Manhattan Brush site, or at the McKay Bay Waste-to-Energy Facility. Hours are 8 am to 5:30 pm Monday to Saturday and 8 am to noon Sunday. Trees will be ground up and used as mulch. Residents are asked to remove all decorations and lights, cut trees limbs to four feet lengths, bundle, and place at curbside on their regularly scheduled yard-waste collection day.
  
  For additional questions or concerns, please call the City of Tampa Utilities Consolidated Call Center at (813) 274-8811, or visit the website at www.tampagov.net/solidwaste .
  
  NOTE: New Tampa residents are encouraged to contact Hillsborough County Solid Waste Management at (813) 272-5680 for their holiday collection schedule.
  For additional information, please contact: Ashley Bauman, Public Affairs Director, (813) 274-8262. [email protected].

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