“Bring One for the Chipper” today through Jan. 5 at any of Polk’s convenience centers and receive a coupon for a free dogwood seedling. The program provides a better way for local residents to dispose of their used Christmas trees than simply throwing them out.

“We are offering coupons this year to encourage people to participate in the annual recycling program,” said Executive Director Sharon Coffman, Keep Polk Beautiful. “This way everyone can be rewarded with a free dogwood.” The free seedlings will not be available until Jan. 5.

Perry Williams, county coordinator, said live trees can be taken to the convenience centers from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday and from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. “Last year, we accepted more than 250 trees,” Williams said. “Hopes are there will be even more this year.” Traditionally, many of the trees have been picked up by local fishermen to place in area ponds or lakes. Due to the drought, Williams said this might not be true this year. “We are preparing our chipper to turn the trees into mulch, which will be free to the public,” he added. “We usually have some mulch for early gardeners each year.”

Ricky Ensley, Extension coordinator, said that trees should be clean before recycling.

If you do not plan to take your tree to a convenience center, you can recycle it by any of the following: For ponds or lakes that still contain water, the tree can be used as a fish habitat. Anchor it in a large coffee can with concrete and put it into a pond or lake. The concrete weighs the tree down with it standing upright on the bottom. These trees are natural fish attractors for Bream and Bass. They offer a safe haven for young fish. You can also use it as a wildlife habitat. You will need to prune some of the branches and use them as mulch instead of pine needles around flowerbeds and shrubs. The trunk with the remaining limbs can be used as a bird nesting station near feeders or birdbaths. Hang suet feeders or birdseed feeders from the branches. Increase thicket areas with your tree. Cardinals especially like thicket areas, and by adding to those areas, you may attract more of them and other birds.

“Bring One for the Chipper” is Georgia’s annual Christmas tree recycling program. Each year, Keep Georgia Beautiful works with private sponsors to organize a number of tree recycling events around the state. The mulch from these trees has been used for playgrounds, local government beautification projects, and individual yards. Through this program, KGB has collected nearly 4.5 million trees and provided over 1 million tree seedlings to program participants. More than 226,600 trees were recycled statewide in 2006.

For more information about Keep Polk Beautiful and its projects, call 678-246-1083.