Once the holidays are over, those who opted for a fresh-cut Christmas tree are left in a quandary about what to do with it. Two area entities have the perfect solution: Recycle it.

The Lawrence-Scioto Solid Waste Management District will again partner with the U.S. Forestry Service to offer residents an opportunity to discard their old Christmas trees. The trees will be collected and transported by the SWMD litter crew to Lake Vesuvius where they will be deposited for fish habitat.

“We would rather do this— provide an arena to dispose of the trees than have them in a landfill or worse,” SWMD Director Dan Palmer said.

The used Christmas trees must be stripped of all ornaments and decorations and placed at one of the six designated areas: the Lawrence County Fairgrounds, Proctorville main entrance across from Romeo’s Pizza; South Point Village Hall, 408 Second St., the parking lot beside the police department; Coal Grove Village Hall, Carlton-Davidson Lane, the vacant lot behind the village hall; the Village of Hanging Rock, the lot next to the Police Department; the City of Ironton at the junction of U.S. 52 and State Route 141, vacant ODOT property and the U.S. Forestry Service office, 6518 State Route 93, Pedro. Signs at the Christmas tree drop sites will be placed at each of the locations with ample area roped off for people to place the trees. This is for live trees only; no artificial trees are permitted.

The district will collect the trees from Dec.27 – Jan. 9. Last year 130 trees were taken to the lake.

“We’re here to help,” Palmer said. “This is another service we provide free of charge to Lawrence County residents.”

For more information on this and other programs of the solid waste district, contact Dan Palmer, district coordinator, or Stephanie Helms, community outreach/education specialist at (740) 532-1231 or 1-888-565-7888.