With Christmas in the rearview, it’s time for Lewis and Thurston county residents to consider what to do with all those trees.
Beginning Dec. 26 at the Lewis County Solid Waste Department’s Central Transfer Station and East Lewis County Transfer Station, county residents will be able to recycle Christmas trees, holiday lights and more for free, according to the county’s website.
The Central Transfer Station — located at 1411 S. Tower Ave. in Centralia — will be accepting Christmas trees, lights, wrapping paper, holiday cards and envelopes, gift boxes and corrugated cardboard for free daily through Jan. 7 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Items that won’t be accepted include foil paper, tape, ribbons and bows.
Volunteers from the Washington State University’s Lewis County Master Recycler Composter and Master Gardener programs will be on hand to help those dropping off recycling.
Additionally, on Jan. 6, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Central Transfer Station, LeMay’s mobile shredding truck will be parked for residents wishing to dispose of sensitive documents. The limit is three boxes or bags of documents per resident.
The East Lewis County Transfer Station — located at 6745 U.S. Highway 12 in Morton — will be accepting Christmas trees, lights, cardboard shipping boxes and wrapping paper for free Monday through Saturday through Jan. 6 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Additionally, the East Lewis County Transfer Station will be closed on Monday, Jan. 1.
Artificial, flocked or decorated Christmas trees will need to go in the garbage, where regular fees will apply.
For more information, contact the Lewis County Solid Waste Department at 360-740-1451 or visit http://tinyurl.com/y24vk5d4.
Thurston County
Thurston County residents can take advantage of several free tree collection and drop-off opportunities available throughout the county.
To prepare your natural tree for recycling, remove all ornaments, lights, stands, nails and tinsel before drop-off. Flocked trees are accepted. Search “Christmas tree” in the online directory at WhereDoITakeMy.org for program details.
Trees are accepted at the Waste and Recovery Center located at 2420 Hogum Bay Road NE in Lacey from Dec. 26 through Jan. 21. It will be closed Jan. 1. Hours of operation are Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Customers with other waste, in addition to a tree, should expect to make two trips across the scale.
Rainier residents can take trees to the Rainier drop-box facility at 13010 Rainier Acres Road SE from Dec. 29 through Jan. 21. Hours of operation are Friday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Rochester residents can take trees to the Rochester drop-box facility at 16500 Sargent Road SW from Dec. 26 through Jan. 21. Hours of operation are Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tenino residents can take trees to 418 Wichman St. from Dec. 26 through Jan. 14.
LeMay food and yard waste customers can place trees in or near their food and yard waste cart in sections of three feet or less. Extra fees apply for customers not signed up for food and yard waste collection. Call LeMay at 360-923-0111 for information.
