December 25, 2022
VC Star
Even though Christmas tree recycling is an annual ritual, differing rules, dates and deadlines in various parts of Ventura County can make collection and drop-off confusing.
Advertisements, flyers and online outreach from each city are seen by residents of other areas, but each resident needs to know their own city’s rules.
Other than grinding your tree and using the mulch on-site, the best “treecycling” method for the environment —requiring the least amount of truck idling time and transportation — is for you to cut your tree into 4-foot segments and fit the pieces into your regular curbside yard waste recycling cart. As long as your tree is free of decorations, stands and other items, it will be mulched with your other yard clippings.
Fireproofed trees should be placed in trash carts rather than yard waste carts. But trees flocked with fake snow are acceptable in organics and yard waste carts in all cities except Oxnard, Thousand Oaks and Santa Paula. Oxnard does, however, accept flocked trees with whole-tree pickup options, in multifamily bins and in drop-off programs.
If you can’t cut your tree to fit in your cart, free whole-tree pickup, on the regular day of collection, is scheduled for these areas:
• In unincorporated areas, Harrison & Sons and WM — formerly Waste Management/G.I. Industries — will collect trees through Jan. 6.
• Oxnard: Through Jan. 29
• Port Hueneme: Jan. 2-13
• Santa Paula and Thousand Oaks: Athens Services will collect trees through Jan. 13.
• Simi Valley and Moorpark: Pickup by WM through Jan. 6.
If you set out a tree after a deadline or in an area without free collection, you may be charged for special collection unless you make separate arrangements. In most areas, you can make these arrangements by calling your trash collector and requesting your annually allocated “free bulky item collection.”
If you live in a multifamily building without yard waste service, ask your apartment manager to contract separately with your hauler for special service.
For businesses, homes without curbside yard waste service and apartments without yard waste collection bins, Christmas tree recycling drop-off sites are available during operating hours and will be free through Jan. 10 at the following locations:
• Agromin Organics, 6859 Arnold Road outside Oxnard, from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday
• Agromin’s corporate office, 201 Kinetic Drive in Oxnard, from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays
• Peach Hill Soils’ retail site at Performance Nursery, 6101 E. Los Angeles Ave. in Somis, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday
• Peach Hill Soils compost site, 10765 W. Los Angeles Ave., near Moorpark, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday
While supplies last, Agromin offers a free bag of potting soil and Peach Hill offers free bags of mulch to residents dropping off trees at these locations.
Other options include:
• WM’s Simi Valley Landfill and Recycling Center, 2801 Madera Road, allows free tree drop-off from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday, from Dec. 26-Jan. 14
• Moorpark provides free drop-off bins on Marquette Street and Park Crest Lane through Jan. 6.
• Oxnard residents can drop off trees for free at the Del Norte Regional Recycling and Transfer Station at the scale house from 5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday, through Jan. 3
• For Oxnard residents only, drops can also be made from dawn to dusk at College Park, Oxnard Beach Park and the dog park at 463 H St. through Jan. 3
In some areas, residents can also set out extra trash after Christmas. In unincorporated areas, for example, residents get free collection of up to two extra 50-gallon bags on their day of collection through Jan. 8.
Ojai residents may double what they set out by using tied bags adjacent to trash carts and collapsed cardboard next to their recycling through Jan. 8.
Moorpark residents can set out up to three extra bags of trash next to their solid waste carts at no extra charge for two collection days, or two weeks after Christmas.
In Ventura, residents may place two extra bags of trash next to their curbside trash cart or bagged or boxed recyclables, such as flattened cardboard, next to their recycling cart through Jan. 6.
David Goldstein, an environmental resource analyst with the Ventura County Public Works Agency, can be reached at 805-658-4312 or david.goldstein@ventura.org.
