Green Holiday Action #27
Pine boughs and yard greenery have been decorating the house inside and out for the past couple of weeks. (Green Holiday Decorations)
Today I got in the mood to take some of it down. But I'm still using some of these branches because now they are providing mulch on areas of the hillside that have bare earth. 
Smaller branches went into our household green bin provided by the city. This green matter will be chipped and composted by the city.
Our live tree went back out into the yard. But if you have a cut holiday tree, you can still make green choices. If at all possible, don't send your tree to a landfill.
In Los Angeles, you can cut up your tree and put it in your green bin for vegetation. You can also recycle the whole tree by taking it to a number of drop-off locations at parks and fire stations throughout the city. For a location near you, check out the L.A. City Bureau of Sanitation website. The designated locations in L.A. will only be recycling whole trees next weekend, Jan. 2-3, 2010. Follow the directions on the city website for how to prepare the tree for recycling.
If you live outside of the Los Angeles area do a web search with key words "recycling Christmas trees" and your city name. Many cities offer some way for you to recycle holiday trees.
Green Holiday Action #22
Recycling can come in a variety of forms. What we used to call antiques are actually recycled items–furniture, glassware, china, and even decorations–that are passed on from one generation to the next rather than being disposable.
I love having a live holiday tree in my house, but a number of people have commented that they have artificial trees they have used for years. Here is one of my favorite comments from my friend Marie:
We live in a condo and do not have a place to plant living Christmas Trees. However, 15 years ago we were passing an antique store in Silver Lake and saw an aluminum Christmas Tree in the window. We decided we had to have it, but the owner wouldn't let us have the one in the window. But searching through the backroom he came across another one in it's original 1950's White Front box. We were old enough to remember when there were lots of White Front stores around Los Angeles, so we scooped it up, and it has been our tree ever since. And every year we add more homemade ornaments or ornaments picked up on our travels. We love our shiny little tree which we recycle each year, even though we didn't even know the word "recycle" when we bought it--we just didn't like the idea of throwing away a once beautiful, but eventually dried out and crumbly tree. - Marie
Think of your holiday decorations as a resource investment. Skip the cheap disposable items and make your purchases something you can use for years to come.
Green Holiday Action #27
Smaller branches went into our household green bin provided by the city. This green matter will be chipped and composted by the city.
