What to do with your Christmas tree after the holidays are over

It’s time to start thinking about what to do with your tree now that Christmas is officially over.

There are plenty of options: putting them out at the curb for collection, creating a safe shelter for wildlife, or donating them to a local goat farm.

Here’s what you need to know about all of those options.

CURBSIDE COLLECTION

The Region of Waterloo collects Christmas trees after the holidays -- typically 200 tonnes of trunks, branches and needles.

They are then turned into wood chips which are given back to residents for re-use in the spring.

An evergreen tree sits ready for curbside collection in Kitchener on Jan. 5, 2023.

Christmas trees will be picked up curbside between Jan. 2 and Jan. 13, 2023, on your regularly scheduled collection day.

The region also has this advice for homeowners:

• Remove all plastic bags, stands and decorations
• Trees more than 1.82 metres (six feet) tall must be cut in half before placing them out for collection
• Make sure trees aren't frozen to the ground
• Don't put trees on top of snowbanks
• Make sure trees are easily accessible and at ground level
• Put your tree out at the curb by 7 a.m.

Natural trees placed out for collection before or after this time period, as well as artificial trees, will be considered bulky items. 

KEEP IN YOUR YARD

Christmas trees can also get a second life after the holiday season.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada suggests keeping them in your backyard.

“Those tree branches and the trunk will provide habitat for birds and other wildlife species over the winter,” Megan Quinn, the NCC’s coordinator of conservation biology, told CTV News in 2022.

The trees can be propped up near another tree, against a fence or laid in a garden.

Another suggestion is to place pinecones in the tree, covered in peanut butter, peanuts or suet, which will provide food for birds while they seek shelter from the cold, snow or rain.

Once the trees lose their needles, the NCC suggests cutting the branches and putting them near spring flower beds while the tree trunk can be placed on top of the soil.

Quinn said whatever is left of the tree by the spring will continue to provide nutrients to the land.

“It will help to hold moisture in your soil, because essentially what you’re doing is you’re mimicking what happens when a tree dies in the forest,” she said.

FOOD FOR GOATS

Another option is to donate your Christmas tree to a local farm to feed their animals.

Some locations that have previously accepted donations are: The Rodrigues Farm in Ayr, The Top Market Family Farm in Ariss, and the Brantford Twin Valley Zoo. Anyone wanting to donate their trees should check with their local farm for instructions and dates.

“We give them a Christmas tree or two every day. We have about nine goats. They can usually go through a Christmas tree a day,” Sarah Rodrigues, co-owner of Rodrigues Farm, told CTV News in early 2023. “It’s replacing all the greenery and pasture that they would normally be eating in spring, summer and fall.”

Goats check out a discarded Christmas tree at a farm in Cottam, Ont. (Source: Our Farm Organics)

Not only does it give the animals a break from their steady diet of hay, it’s also good for their digestion as the trees are full of fiber.

Jennifer Stallman at the Brantford Twin Valley Zoo told CTV News in 2020 that the animals "love them, they eat them, roll in them and play in them." She also said the trees are vital to their wellbeing.

"Not only do the animals need to be fed and given water, but they also need love and mental stimulation," Stallman explained. "Being able to offer a different scent and sensory experience for them is a huge mental stimulation and really beneficial for the animal."