Here’s where you can recycle your Christmas tree

The holidays are over, and it’s now time to clean up, clear the ornaments, decorations and wrapping paper out and take down that tree.

If you had a live (or recently live) one, several municipalities, including Seattle, are offering free composting and removal service.

In Seattle, Christmas trees can be placed on the curb next to the food and yard waste cart on your regular trash collection day through Jan. 31,  with the following caveats:

• Trees must be trimmed to 6-feet or shorter
• Trim branches to less than 4-feet to fit into the collection trucks
• Bundle each section with string or twine (not plastic or nylon)
• Remove any metal, lights, ornaments, or other decorative objects

Apartment residents can put one tree next to each food and yard waste cart each collection day at no extra charge.

Clean trees are also accepted for free at Seattle transfer stations until the end of January. To be accepted, the trees must be devoid of decorations, less than 8-feet tall with a trunk smaller than 4-inches in diameter. Only three trees per vehicle are free, the city says.

In Auburn, residents served by Waste Management or Republic Services who live in single-family homes, duplexes and mobile home parks can throw out one tree and one wreath for free between Jan. 9 through Jan. 13 by placing the tree at the curbside before 6 a.m. on collection day.

Collection for residents of multi-family complexes, which will occur the same week of Jan. 9 -13, should ask their site manager to call Republic Services at 206-682-9735 to schedule a pickup day.

For pick up, trees should be cleared of all decorations and tinsel and must be cut into three-foot lengths that each weigh less than 65 pounds.

In Bellevue and Bremerton, Boy Scout troops will be recycling Christmas trees as part of their annual fundraisers. In Bellevue, Troop 600 will be collecting trees at Chinook Middle School on Jan. 7 or by scheduling a pick up on the troop’s website.

In Kitsap, Boy Scout Troop 1541, which can be contacted through their home page, is also recycling trees as part of their fundraising efforts.