Waukegan residents and others in Lake County wondering what to do with their Christmas tree can not only dispose of it without cost, but also find a recipient who will use it to enhance the environment.
A 2024 Christmas tree may become wood chips in this new year on Lake County Forest Preserves District trails, or become compost enriching soil and reducing erosion where needed.
The Lake County Forest Preserves District and LRS waste disposal service serving a number of communities in the county provide free Christmas tree removal services in early 2025 enabling people to put their tree to continued beneficial use.
Chris Manley, LRS’s general manager for northern Illinois, said residents can put their Christmas tree at the curb on their scheduled pickup date through Jan. 26. All tinsel, other decorations and tree stands must be removed.
John Nelson, the forest preserves district’s chief operations officer, said the trees can also be cleansed of extraneous matter and taken to one of eight designated forest preserves spread across Lake County by Feb. 1.
Once an individual arrives at one of the forest preserves, Nelson said they will find the area for disposal in the parking area or somewhere else well marked.
Nelson said some of the trees will be ground into wood chips and used as trail bed for paths which are neither gravel nor paved with asphalt. They last on the trail for about a year so there is a recurring need.
“They fill in the low spots, making it higher and more comfortable,” Nelson said. “They also keep undesired vegetation from growing up in the path. We use them on our shorter trails or ones leading to main trails. Some are on their way to becoming formal trails. They are for pedestrians, not horses.”
With a goal of using a chipper to create the chips on site, Nelson said hopefully they can primarily be used in the forest preserves to which they were taken. They will be transported, if necessary.
Some trees will be used to make fish cribs. Nelson said several trees are banded together and dropped into ponds like the one in Van Patten Woods Forest Preserve near Wadsworth. It was once a gravel pit.
“We put weights on them and put them on the ice in the winter,” Nelson said. “When the ice melts they fall to the bottom and create a fish habitat with food. They may last for some time under the water.”
For trees left curbside for LRS in Waukegan and other communities served by the company, Manley said there should be no plastic or anything left hanging from the free like ornaments or lights. They are transported to a site in Antioch where they are ground into compost.
While taking trees to the forest preserves takes more effort than leaving them curbside, LRS serves some but not all communities in Lake County. Nelson said the forest preserve option provides an alternative for those who want one. Regular yard waste is not allowed.
Trees can be deposited at Grant Woods in Ingleside, the Greenbelt Forest Preserve in North Chicago, Half Day Forest Preserve in Vernon Hills, Heron Creek Forest Preserve in Long Grove, Lakewood Forest Preserve in Wauconda, Old School Forest Preserve in Mettawa, Ryerson Conservation Area in Riverwoods and Van Patten Woods.
