Volunteer Groups Gathering Old Christmas Trees This Weekend
The holidays are over and it's now time for everyone's least favorite part of the end of the holiday season: taking down the tree. Although some people use fake trees in their decorating (I'm guilty of this. My fake tree is also pre-lit), there are still plenty that take pride in going out to the forest and cutting down their own tree.
While those natural trees smell great, chances are that the one you've chopped down is now dried out, brittle and completely dead. And if you've put off taking it down, I've got some good news for you! There will be a group of people out in Laramie this weekend collecting your old trees!
To have your tree collected, you should have it out on the curb by 9 a.m. on Saturday, January 5. Volunteers from local organiations including the Laramie Knights of Pythias, Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Laramie High School Rodeo Club and more will be cruising around the city looking for trees to dispose of. There is no charge to this service.
The groups are also accepting volunteers to help with the collection. Anyone looking to volunteer with the collection will need to meet with the other volunteers in LaBonte Park at 9 a.m. on Saturday. Jim Wheat, who spoke with Laramie Live about the tree collection, said that anyone who wishes to volunteer to help with collecting the trees is welcome to participate, and that the program usually gets enough volunteers to complete the tree collection in under 2 hours.
"We get volunteers that are not affiliated with any of the volunteer organizations and that's great. It helps to have extra people, it goes a lot faster that way." Wheat also mentioned that a free lunch will be provided for volunteers after the collection is over.
If you happen to miss Saturday's pickup, don't fret! Christmas trees are considered green waste and as such, can be dropped off for free at the Laramie Landfill during their regular operating hours, which are 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.