Taking down decorations? Here’s where you can recycle your Christmas tree
Once the daunting task of taking down the Christmas decorations is done, only one questions remains: What about the tree?
If it’s a natural tree, then it’s recyclable.
Beaufort County residents with county convenience center decals can bring natural Christmas trees to any of the 10 convenience centers. Residents without decals can still have their trees recycled, but only at the locations on Shanklin Road in Beaufort or Simmonsville Road in Bluffton.
All 10 centers are open 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., but different centers are open on different days:
- 104 Simmonsville Road, Bluffton (closed Wednesdays)
- 26 Summit Drive, Hilton Head (closed Wednesdays)
- 80 Shanklin Road, Beaufort (closed Wednesdays)
- 639 Sea Island Parkway, St. Helena (closed Wednesdays)
- 63 Big Estate Road, Yemassee (open Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays)
- 10 Cee Cee Road, St. Helena (open Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays)
- 6 Keans Neck Road, Seabrook (open Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays)
- 208 Johnson Road, Seabrook (open Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays)
- 152 Cuffy Road, St. Helena (open Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays)
All centers will be closed Wednesday and New Year’s Day.
Trees should be placed in the yard waste bins at the centers.
Hilton Head Island
Hilton Head residents have a second option in the town’s annual “Grinding of the Greens,” which recycles Christmas trees into mulch from Dec. 26 through Jan. 15.
The town has two tree drop-off locations:
- Coligny Beach Parking Lot (paved area on the South Forest Beach Side). The lot is adjacent to Lowcountry Celebration Park on the south end of the Island.
- Old Gullah Flea Market Site (off William Hilton Parkway and Chamberlin Drive). This site is across William Hilton Parkway from Squire Pope Road on the north end of the Island.
When the grinding is complete, the town will give out free mulch from Jan. 17 to Jan. 23 or until all mulch has been claimed.
This year the town is also accepting holiday lights. Collections bins marked “recycled lights only” will be available at the drop-off sites
Make sure that all ornaments, lights and other decorations are removed from trees before recycling at both town and county locations.
