LA Sanitation Pairs with Alexa for Christmas Tree Pickup Scheduling

While some of us aren’t quite ready to part with our Christmas trees yet, some people prefer to take them down right after Christmas.  But either way, those who have real trees will be putting them out on the curb soon…and the LA Department of Sanitation wants everyone to know it’s trying to make tree pickups even easier this year, with a bit of help from Amazon’s Alexa app, for either Android or iPhone devices.

Yes, according to a press release, Los Angeles has launched the “First-ever pilot program in the country [that] allows residents to request a free curbside tree collection through Amazon Alexa.” And once you’ve got the app installed, you can just say, “Alexa, open Christmas Tree Collection” to get started.  (More detailed instructions are available here.)

Of course, if you’re not an Alexa user, there are still many other ways to recycle your trees.  According to the LA Sanitation Christmas Tree recycling page, they include:

• Call LA Sanitation’s 24-hour Customer Care Center at 1-800-773-2489
• Request “Christmas Tree Recycling” on the MyLA311 website
• Request “Christmas Tree Recycling” on the LA Sanitation website by clicking the green SERVICE REQUEST tab on the right of the screen.
• Put your tree out on your regular trash collection day (either cut it up so it fits in your green yard waste bin, or set whole next to the green bin)

And finally, if none of the other options appeal to you, you can also drop off your Christmas tree for recycling on Sunday, January 3, 2021, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., at one of several Recreation and Park locations, including:

• Los Angeles Zoo Parking Lot – Griffith Park, junction of Golden State (Interstate 5) and Ventura (State Route 134) Freeways
• Baldwin Hills: Rancho Cienega Recreation Center – 5001 Rodeo Road
• Rancho Park: Cheviot Hills Recreation Center – 2551 Motor Avenue

And several Fire Stations – including Fire Station 29, at 4029 Wilshire Blvd. – will also be accepting trees until mid-January.

Finally, please note that whichever method you use, be sure to remove all decorations, tinsel and stands from the tree before pickup of dropoff.  Also, flocked and artificial trees cannot be recycled, so those need to go into your black bins to be taken to a landfill.

Real trees picked up by the city – between 90,000 and 100,000 each year, according to LA Sanitation – are recycled and turned into mulch and compost, which is then made available to city residents for free.

And trees aren’t the only recyclable holiday items.  You can also recycle the following in your blue bin:

• Holiday wrapping paper
• Cartons
• Cardboard (note: extra boxes and cardboard that doesn’t fit into your bin should be broken down flat, then cut and tied in 4×4 bundles of less than 30 pounds each, and left next to the bin for pickup)
• Styrofoam®
• Other expanded polystyrene products, plastics and gift boxes

Finally please DO NOT put household hazardous waste, such as electronics and batteries, in any of your sanitation bins.  Those should be taken to a local S.A.F.E. Center for disposal and recycling.