Cape, Jackson will recycle holiday trees

If you've been watering your Christmas tree every day of the season, then your tree is probably like Cape Girardeau resident Amy Ledure's.

"It's doing really good," she said. "We tried to pull the needles off and not many came off."

But if the needles are falling off, Cape Girardeau fire marshal Mike Morgan says it's time for disposal.

Residents in Cape Girardeau can drop off their trees in the southeast corner of Arena Park through Jan. 31 or they can pay a $5 fee for the city to pick up the tree from the curb, said Cape Girardeau solid waste coordinator Pam Sander. The pickups are done on Wednesdays, beginning Jan. 8, and the fee will show up on the monthly utility bill.

In Jackson, residents can drop off their Christmas trees at the recycling center, said Mayor Paul Sander. The center is at 508 Eastview Court, just north of Jackson's power plant.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, a division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, residential fires are 14 percent more likely to happen during the holiday season and those holiday fires are nearly 30 percent more likely to cause death. Christmas trees are part of the problem.

Morgan said it's important to dispose of trees at the right time because dry trees can pose a "terrible" danger.

"They're like a blowtorch," he said. "You'd be amazed by the heat and the intense fire that a tree has when it goes up. It goes up in a matter of seconds."

Morgan said Cape Girardeau firefighters have not had to put out a Christmas tree fire in many years. He said people are being more careful with their trees or buying artificial ones.

Ledure said this is the first year she's had a real tree and she has really enjoyed it. The only drawback is her girls had to put gloves on when they decorated it to keep from being pricked by the needles.

"But it makes the whole house smell really good," she said. "It's perfect."

Ledure said she'll probably drop the tree off at Arena Park on Thursday.

Sander said the disposed trees will be available for farmers and the Missouri Department of Conservation to use to improve the fish habitat in ponds and lakes. She said trees not used for fish habitat will be ground up into mulch.

bmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127