It’s that time… Maybe you were on the ball and did it on January 1, or maybe you’re thinking of doing it today. The time has come to dispose of your Christmas tree, and here are best ways to do it. The City of Beacon’s Highway Department will pick it up for free, but you need to meet their requirements:

• Nekkid: Strip that tree down of all ornaments, lights, bows, anything that is not the tree. These trees go to the Transfer Station to be mulched, so they can’t have any other element on them, other than natural nature. If you’ve moved from New York City, where putting out a fully decorated tree is the norm (there was some good trash/decoration picking to be had off those wasted trees!), well, you can’t do that here.

• Sidewalk - in view: Leave that tree in plain sight on its side. If the workers in the trucks can’t see your tree, then they won’t stop to pick it up.

• Give ‘em a call: If your Christmas tree has been out on the sidewalk for weeks and weeks, give the Highway Department a call to tip them off that your end of town could use a run. According to our article in 2017, the Highway Department divides the city into grids, and travels through the grids looking for trees to pick up.

Leaf bags are still being picked up, too. If you’ve got piles of leaves or aging grass clippings in your backyard, you could use this time to bag it, and put it to the curb before the next snowfall.

Photo Credits: We put out a tweet call for reader photos of Christmas trees they found on the sidewalk to be used in this photo. Thank you Vicki Raabin and Erin Giunta for your submissions!

Photo Credits: Erin Giunta