Curbside Christmas tree pickup to begin Monday in London

Now that the holidays have passed, there are several options for Londoners who want to dispose of their Christmas trees.

Residents can wait until Jan. 6 for curbside collection or go to an EnviroDepot to drop off their trees.

The city will begin to collect trees and other holiday greenery at homes with curbside collection starting Monday.

Trees should be placed at the curb by 7 a.m. for collection during the week.

The city is advising Londoners to remove all decorations, tinsel, garland, skirts and lights from the trees before placing them outside.

Officials say trees in plastic bags will not be collected, and the city is asking residents to make sure trees are not frozen to the ground or snowbanks.

Trees should be placed on level ground within one metre of the curb, the city says, adding that crews will only collect from each neighbourhood once.

According to Jay Stanford, director of environment, fleet and solid waste with the City of London, roughly 11,000 to 13,000 trees are collected each January.

Stanford says another option for residents who want to put their tree to good use is to place it in their backyard to provide birds with additional shelter opportunities from winter winds and predators.

4:53 Recycling your Christmas Tree

For garbage collected during the holidays, Stanford is advising Londoners to double-check what can and cannot go into recycling bins, saying.

“Items such as gift wrap, ribbons, bows… they cannot be placed in the blue box,” Stanford said.

“Those are items that, unfortunately, have to be placed in the garbage.”

Cardboard boxes should be broken down, flattened, bundled and stacked in recycling bins.

Items such as takeout coffee cups, milk cartons and juice boxes belong with other recyclable containers and not paper.

The city says Londoners should avoid “wish-cycling” — just because you “wish” you could recycle something, doesn’t mean you can.

The Recycle Coach app can also be used to answer questions regarding what can and cannot go into recycling bins.