City to help in holiday trash, tree disposal

For those with an abundance of post-holiday boxes, wrapping paper and other trash, the city of Cape Girardeau again will come to the rescue.

In keeping with a tradition established some years ago, the Cape Girardeau Public Works Department will accept reasonable amounts of extra trash and holiday debris through Friday.

The additional pickups carry no additional charge, said Mary Thatch of the department. The city will pick up as many as eight to 10 bags instead of the usual two on its solid-waste pickup routes.

"This does not include Christmas trees," Thatch said.

Christmas trees can be taken to a disposal site in Arena Park at no cost. Trees can be dropped off in a large Dumpster in the southeast corner of Arena Park until Jan. 31.

Residents can also arrange for a curbside pickup of Christmas trees, Thatch said. "We'll start picking up trees at the curb Jan. 9," she said. The charge for the curbside pickup is $5.

Meanwhile, the department announced some changes for this week's solid-waste and recycling pickups.

Monday pickups remained the same, but Tuesday's residential solid-waste and recycling routes will be picked up on Wednesday.

Thursday's and Friday's pickups will remain on the normal schedule. There will be no Wednesday special pickups for bulky refuse until Jan. 9.

Two ways to recycle trees

The Christmas tree disposal service is great, said Kenny Seabaugh. "We really appreciate it. I've used the site at Arena Park for a number of years," he said.

Without the drop-off site, Seabaugh said he would have a longer drive to dispose of the tree. "I have a friend with a farm and some gullies," he said.

The trees at the park area are recycled in one of two ways.

The Missouri Conservation Department and some individuals pick up trees to use as fish habitat. "They're put there for the taking," said Thatch.

The remainder, said Thatch, will be chipped up into landscaping mulch, which is made available to local residents.

"Christmas trees make good fish homes," said Mike Reed, a fisheries biologist at the regional Department of Conservation headquarters. Any type of structure such as brush piles, vegetation, trees and concrete blocks attract fish and can increase the size and numbers of fish in an impoundment. Christmas trees are a good place for fish to hide from predators, to feed or to spawn, he said.

The trees can be tied to concrete blocks or concrete slabs using nylon rope or wire. Generally, one concrete block will sink three to four 6-foot Christmas trees.

rowen@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 133