Tucson, Oro Valley offer Christmas tree recycling sites

Starting Thursday, Dec. 26, a total of nine drop-off locations will open across the area for undecorated trees destined to be ground into mulch.

As Tucson officials put it in a press release: “Your Christmas tree is a sustainable resource.”

Just don’t forget to remove the stand, lights, ornaments, wire and tinsel before dropping it off.

Oro Valley’s annual tree recycling program doubles as a fundraiser for the Kiwanis Club, which operates the town’s drop-off location at 9451 N. Egleston Drive, on the north side of James D. Kriegh Park. The site will be accepting trees during daylight hours seven days a week through Jan. 15, but there is no access from Calle Concordia, so you’ll need to get there from Linda Vista Boulevard.

Tucson’s TreeCycle program runs through Jan. 20, with locations open during daylight hours seven days a week unless otherwise noted below. They can be found at:

• Todd M. Harris Sports Complex, 2400 S. Craycroft Road;
• Randolph Golf Course, 600 S. Alvernon Way, in the southeast corner of the parking lot;
• Purple Heart Park, 9820 E. Rees Loop, by the dog park around the corner on Rees Loop;
• Tucson Rodeo Grounds on Third Avenue, north of Irvington Road;
• Los Reales Sustainability Campus, 5300 E. Los Reales Road, with access from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday off Craycroft Road and Los Reales Road;
• Tank’s Ina Land Reclamation Facility, 5300 W. Ina Road, which is open west of Interstate 10 from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday;
• Tank’s Speedway Recycling and Landfill Facility, 7301 E. Speedway, which is open north of Prudence Road from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday;
• Joaquin Murrieta Park, 1375 N. El Rio Drive, with access off Speedway and drop-off next to the Boys and Girls Club.

For added environmental benefits, Tucson officials encourage people to “tree-pool” by dropping off a neighbor’s tree at the same time they bring their own to reduce the number of cars on the road.

The recycling locations only take Christmas trees, not other yard waste. City waste crews will not collect Christmas trees from curbs or alleys.

Leftover trees from commercial tree lots are not accepted at TreeCycle sites, except for the Los Reales Landfill at posted landfill rates.