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Dried Up Christmas Trees Can Become Fire Hazards

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Jan 9, 2009 11:09 am US/Eastern

Dried Up Christmas Trees Can Become Fire Hazards

FT. LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ― Many people like to keep their beautifully decorated Christmas trees up long after Christmas and Three Kings Day but remember, the longer a natural tree stays up, the more it dries out and becomes a fire hazard.

That's why both Miami-Dade and Broward County offer locations for residents to recycle their trees for free.

In Broward, more than 10,000 trees were recycled through the program last year, instead of ending up in landfills. The trees are chipped and used for park landscaping.

Officials say the trees must be decoration-free. Artificial trees will not be accepted.

In Broward, the Chip-A-Tree program runs through January 18th with hours from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. All parks are closed on Tuesdays, except for the ones listed in bold.

Here are the parks where you can drop off your trees:
  • Brian Piccolo Park, 9501 Sheridan St., Cooper City
  • C.B. Smith Park, 900 N. Flamingo Rd., Pembroke Pines
  • Easterlin Park, 1000 N.W. 38th St, Oakland Park
  • Fern Forest Nature Center, 201 Lyons Rd South, Coconut Creek
  • Markham Park, 16001 W. State Rd. 84, Sunrise
  • Plantation Heritage Park, 1100 S. Fig Tree Ln., Plantation
  • Quiet Waters Park, 401 S. Powerline Rd., Deerfield Beach
  • Reverend Samuel Delevoe Park, 2520 N.W. 6th St, Fort Lauderdale
  • Snake Warrior's Island Natural Area, 3600 S.W. 62nd Ave, Miramar
  • Tradewinds Park, 3600 W. Sample Rd., Coconut Creek
  • Tree Tops Park, 3900 S.W. 100th Ave, Davie
  • T.Y. Park, 3300 N. Park Rd, Hollywood
  • West Lake Park, 751 Sheridan St, Hollywood
Miami Dade's Department of Solid Waste Management also turns  Christmas trees into garden mulch.

If you receive regular curbside pickup from DSWM, simply remove tinsel and decorations from your tree and place it next to your regular trash can. The garbage collectors will pick up trees left curbside until January 25th. The collectors will take it to the recycling center and chip it for mulch.

Drop-off Service

If you're a resident of Miami-Dade County, you may also drop off your clean tree at one of the following locations:

  • 19901 NW 7th Avenue
  • 21500 NW 47th Avenue
  • 1830 NW 79th Street
  • 140 NW 160th Street
  • 7870 NW 178th Street
  • 24000 SW 97th Avenue
  • 2200 SW 117th Avenue
  • 13600 SW 117th Avenue
  • 8000 SW 107th Avenue
  • 16651 SW 107th Avenue
  • 20800 SW 117th Court
  • 12970 SW 268th Street
  • 14050 Boggs Drive
Trees will be accepted at these locations as well until January 31st.

Free Garden Chips

You can also reap the harvest by picking up free tree chips for use in your garden. Chips will be available beginning in February while supplies last. You can pick up chips at:

  • 8000 SW 107th Avenue
  • 21500 NW 47th Avenue
  • 9401 SW 184th Street
 

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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