The holiday season is almost over. Stockings are coming down, lights are being furled and Christmas trees are ready to be disposed.
That leaves the city with an important task: picking up unwanted trees.
The city provides the service, free of charge, as part of the city’s “Clean City” initiative. South Bend offers drop-off, call-in, and automatic pickup for natural Christmas trees.
Automatic pick-up begins on Monday, January 5 in the northeast quadrant of the city and moving clockwise around South Bend. Pickups will continue through Friday, January 16.
The city says that trees should be placed at the curbside, not in the street or alleys. All lights, ornaments and metal should be removed. The city will not collect any artificial trees.
During the two week period of automatic pickups, call-ins will not be necessary. After January 16, residents should call 311 for a pickup.
Drop-offs will be accepted beginning on Friday, December 26 until January 16 from 7 am to 6 pm. The locations include:
- Rum Village — Ewing Ave. at Gertrude
- Pinhook Park — 2800 block of Riverside Dr.
- Veterans’ Memorial Park — Twyckenham Dr. at Northside Blvd.
Signs will direct residents to drop-off points at the three locations. Drop off is for Christmas trees only. Dumping trash at these sites will result in a ticket.
The city says that all of the trees collected are recycled at Organic Resources and turned into high quality mulch, which is provided to South Bend residents for free.
————
