By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

Locals looking to get rid of their live Christmas trees after the holiday has passed will have several opportunities to do so at multiple locations throughout the county, the county has announced.

Shelby County has partnered with the city of Chelsea, the city of Pelham and the Propst Alabaster company to offer Christmas tree recycling programs at five locations in the county.

The recycling locations will be held from Dec. 27, 2018 through Jan. 4, 2019, at the following locations:

 

-Heardmont Park on Alabama 119 in North Shelby

-Chelsea City Hall

-The Ray Building off Alabama 70 in Columbiana

-The parking lot of the AmStar Theater in Alabaster’s Propst Promenade shopping center

-Pelham City Park off U.S. 31

 

The five drop-off areas will be designated with orange traffic cones and signs, and will be monitored daily by county crews.

 

All decorations, lights and tree stands must be removed before the trees are dropped off.

The county has offered the recycling program for the past several years, and regularly recycles more than 1,000 trees each year.

“We plan to recycle the Christmas trees into landscape and erosion/sediment control materials for county facilities and decrease the volume of illegal dumping that occurs each year,” said Shelby County Manager Alex Dudchock.