Jan 6, 2007 5:19 pm US/Central
Activist Says Tree Recycling Shouldn't Be Bagged
City Should Be Promoting Recycle Blue Bins and Drop-off Centers.
by Suzanne Le Mignot
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
Christmas is over and it's time to take down the decorations and recycle that tree.
The city of Chicago is offering a bonus to those who participate in the recycling, but one activist tells CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot, the city is not giving out the right thing.
Michelle Laiss is among the thousands of Chicagoans taking part in the city's annual Christmas Tree Recycling Program. Each person bringing in a tree receives a sack of mulch, a spruce seedling to plant, and blue bags.
"Holidays are over, so you've got to do more for the environment," said Laiss. "It's nice that people can come here and get something in return."
Last year, 12,000 trees were recycled.
Mayor Daley says a recycling program like this is important because a Christmas tree can take up almost as much space in a landfill as a washing machine.
Betsy Vandercook is with the Chicago Recycling Coalition and says while she backs the city's tree recycling effort, giving out blue bags is counterproductive.
"A full third of the bags are taken directly to landfills," she said. "They don't even bother recycling or pulling out the bags anymore, because it's gotten very, very expensive."
Vandercook says officials should promote the city's new blue bin program and local recycling drop-off boxes instead.
Mayor Daley said 80,000 residents use the blue bin system in seven wards; the goal is to expand the program throughout the city, eventually replacing the blue bag.
"As long as it's marked recyclables, we will take it," Daley said.
He added, what's most important, is protecting the environment for future generations. So far the city has collected more than 10,000 trees.
If you still want to recycle your tree, it's not too late. You can drop off your tree until Jan. 15 at these participating sites:
Bessemer Park -- 8930 S Muskegon Ave
DeVry Institute -- 3401 N Rockwell
Forestry Site -- 900 E 103rd St
Garfield Park -- 100 N Central Park Ave
Grant Park -- 900 S Columbus Dr
Humboldt Park -- 1440 N Sacramento Ave
Jackson Park -- 6401 S Stony Island Ave
Kennedy Park -- 11320 S Western Ave
Kelvyn Park -- 4438 W Wrightwood Ave
Lake Meadows Park -- 3117 S Rhodes Ave
Lincoln Park -- Cannon Dr at Fullerton
Margate Park -- 4921 N Marine Dr
Marquette Park -- 6700 S Kedzie Ave
McKinley Park -- 2210 W Pershing Rd
Mt. Greenwood Park -- 3721 W 111th St
North Park Village -- 5801 N Pulaski Rd
Norwood Park -- 5801 N Natoma Ave
Portage Park -- 4100 N Long Ave
Riis Park -- 6100 W Fullerton Ave
Rowan Park -- 11546 S Avenue L
Sheridan Park -- 910 S Aberdeen St
Warren Park -- 6601 N Western Ave
Wentworth Park -- 5625 S Mobile Ave
All locations are open 7 days a week during daylight hours.
To find the park district in your area that is accepting trees, call 311.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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