Composting Gives Holiday Greenery a Second Life R.I. Resource Recovery Advises on Composting and Mulching

Johnston – Rhode Island Resource Recovery (RIRRC) urges Rhode Island residents to give holiday greenery a second life. Whether you celebrated the season with a fir, pine, balsam, spruce, or boxwood, all of these types of cut trees can be chipped and processed into compost.
Trees must be stripped of all ornamentation. Trees are processed separately from other recyclables, so even though it might seem logical to send the metal or plastic stand along for recycling, the tree needs to be bare. This also means that plastic bags intended to contain the pine needles post-holiday, must be removed from the tree when it’s placed at the curb, brought to your local transfer station, or dropped off at RIRRC for composting. Please check with local departments of public works for instructions for curbside collection OR drop-off dates for individual cities and towns.
In addition to Christmas tree collection, dead poinsettias, berries, pine cones, twigs, assorted holiday greenery and chestnuts that weren’t roasted on an open fire can all be added to a home composting bin. “Our operations benefit from annual separation and grinding of the Christmas trees. The mulch that is created is used on our site for landscaping and year long “decoration”. Furthermore, the shredded trees add nutrients to our Rhode Island Class A Compost, which we sell by the bag or by the truckload” said Brian Card, Director of Landfill Operations and Engineering at R.I. Resource Recovery. “When Rhode Islanders choose to compost their Christmas trees they’re giving a gift to our state.”
For more information about Christmas tree composting or for general information about sorting holiday trash, go to atoz.rirrc.org or call 401-942-1430.