CHRISTMAS OVER, TREES PILE UP FOR RECYLCIING

The trappings of Christmas disappear quickly. Even the trees don't stay up long.

Area residents discarded Christmas trees at Arena Park Thursday in what has become an annual holiday ritual.

Each year, the city of Cape Girardeau provides a site in the southeast corner of Arena Park for people to drop off their trees. The area is marked.

"We get hundreds of trees," said Steve Cook of the city's Public Works Department.

The Missouri Conservation Department takes most of the discarded Christmas trees and sinks them in area lakes as fish habitat.

"They are fish attractors," said the Conservation Department's Ray Hendrickson. "They are good places to catch fish."

The trees provide fish with breeding areas and resting places.

Small fish congregate around the dead trees and, in turn, attract larger fish, he said.

Hendrickson said his agency recycled hundreds of Christmas trees from Arena Park last winter.

He said it makes sense for the Conservation Department to use the trees dumped in Arena Park.

"For one thing, they are free. They are close. They are easy to get to," he said.

Hendrickson said recycling Christmas trees is good for the environment.

The trees aren't dumped in landfills. Solid-waste laws prohibit cities from dumping Christmas trees and other yard waste in landfills.

He said the department will begin picking up the trees from Arena Park after Jan. 1.

People can drop off trees at Arena Park through Jan. 20.

The trees are there for the taking. In addition to the Conservation Department, some individuals also pick up trees for use as fish habitat.

The remainder will be chipped up for mulch, said Cook, the city's environmental services coordinator.

The city of Cape Girardeau also will haul away Christmas trees left at the curb, beginning Jan. 8.

Residents, however, must call the Public Works office at 334-9151 to schedule the special pickups. There is a $5 charge for the service.

The trees that are picked up at the curb will be taken to the city's compost area on West End Boulevard and ground into landscaping mulch that will be made available to local residents.

Also, the city's solid waste crews will haul off a "reasonable" amount of holiday trash, excluding Christmas trees, through Jan. 3 at no additional charge.

"If they put six or eight bags out there, we will pick them up," said Cook.

"We just don't want somebody cleaning out their garage. it is not spring cleanup," Cook said.