Recycle your Christmas tree for mulch in the Charlotte area — or donate to goats and pigs

When the time comes that you have to let your Christmas tree go, it’s easy and free to do, and even “pays it forward” — as Christmas trees are turned into mulch.

Dried out Christmas trees become increasingly flammable as days go by, so don’t hold onto it for too long.

Most towns and cities recycle Christmas trees for mulch, so recycling your tree is a way of “paying it forward.”

Read on for information on how to recycle Christmas trees in the Charlotte area. There are options for curbside pickup and drop-off at recycling centers.

Also, read on to learn about some farms that would love to receive your Christmas tree as a donation to feed their goats or pigs.

Just because we don’t include information for your town, city or county doesn’t mean that they don’t recycle Christmas trees. Make sure to check on your town’s recycling information if it’s not listed here.

City of Charlotte

If you are a City of Charlotte Solid Waste Services customer, just place your real Christmas tree curbside with other yard waste items. You can put your tree on the curb for collection starting January 1, 2025.

Make sure that your tree is free of any decoration. More information.

If you need to dispose of an artificial tree, schedule it for bulk item collection.

Cardboard collection:

• Cardboard goes into the recycling cart. It will not be picked up if it’s sitting outside the cart.
• It must be broken up into smaller pieces that will fit loosely in your recycling cart. Don’t fold it.
• If it won’t fit inside your cart, you need to take it to one of Mecklenburg County’s full-service facilities.

Mecklenburg County

All Mecklenburg County jurisdictions that pick up yard waste curbside will collect live trees from the curbside, for chipping.

Mecklenburg County grinds up the trees and turns them into mulch or includes them into compost. They accept Christmas trees all year. Here’s a video from Mecklenburg County about what happens to your Christmas tree.

In addition, you can also bring your Christmas tree to one of Mecklenburg County’s full-service drop-off centers:

Foxhole Recycling Center
17131 Lancaster Highway
Charlotte, NC 28277

North Mecklenburg Recycling Center
12300 N. Statesville Road
Huntersville, NC 28078

Hickory Grove Recycling Center
8007 Pence Road
Charlotte, NC 28215

Compost Central and Recycling Center
140 Valleydale Road
Charlotte, NC 28214

Other Cities and Counties

If you live in a different municipality, make sure to check with your solid waste services to see how to dispose of your Christmas tree. Many will ask you to just put your tree out, without any decoration, on your yard waste day.

Recycling Other Holiday Materials

Mecklenburg County has these guidelines for recycling holiday waste. Other counties have similar guidelines, but you might want to double check.

Do Recycle:

• Plastic, glass bottles, aluminum cans, cardboard, boxboard and clean paper may go in your curbside recycling bin.
• Cardboard toy and gift boxes.

Don’t Recycle:

• Foil covered papers or envelopes – Remove the foil backing from the envelope and throw it in the trash. The plain paper envelope may go in the recycle bin.
• Styrofoam – Be sure to separate the Styrofoam from the cardboard box that new toys are often packaged in. Toss the cardboard box in the recycle bin and throw the Styrofoam in the trash.
• Batteries – Don’t put batteries in a recycling cart. You need to take old batteries to one of the County’s full-service recycling centers like Foxhole and Hickory Grove Recycling Center.
• Artificial trees – Artificial trees should go in the trash, or scheduled for bulk pickup. Or, consider selling or donating it.

Charlotte Region ReStore has said, in past years, that they welcome donations of gently used decorations, including artificial trees, inflatables, and more. But before dropping them off you might want to give them a call to verify, as their needs might have changed. They will pick up large objects at no charge. Request donation pick-up here.