Don't Toss That Trunk: Christmas Tree Recycling Near Brick

BRICK, NJ — The gifts are opened and the Christmas festivities are slowing down, and for many, the real trees may be starting to look a bit bedraggled.

If you bought a live tree and are contemplating taking it down, the Ocean County Parks Department is encouraging residents to recycle their trees rather than leaving them at the curb.

"Please don't send them to the landfill, as we can put them to good use," the Parks Department said in a social media post.

Trees can be dropped off at many of the county's parks, and from there they are put to use throughout the county. (See the list of collection sites below.)

Trees dropped off at the parks are turned into wood chips, and the wood chips are available to residents for their home landscaping, as well as being used by the county for its landscaping projects and trail work. Trees also are used at Natural Lands sites.

Christmas trees can be dropped off at a number of Ocean County park locations through the first week in January. Here are some local drop-off points:

• Ocean County Golf Course at Forge Pond, 301 Chambers Bridge Road, Brick
• Ocean County Park, 659 Ocean Ave. (Route 88), Lakewood
• Beaver Dam County Park, 3430 Bridge Ave., Point Pleasant
• Cattus Island County Park, 1170 Cattus Island Blvd., Toms River

Christmas trees also are accepted at the Northern and Southern Recycling Centers year-round during regular business hours (7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday through Saturday). The Northern Recycling Center is located at 535 Oberlin Ave. South, Lakewood.