NEWBERRY — Have you thought of what to do with your Christmas tree or wreaths after the holiday? Well, Keep Newberry County Beautiful has you covered with their third annual Grinding of the Greens.
“This is a free program that is designed as an outreach program to help get rid of Christmas trees and raise awareness for the Newberry Soil and Water Conservation District and Keep Newberry County Beautiful,” said Danielle Rowe, executive director of Keep Newberry County Beautiful.
Grinding of the Greens allows you to drop your live Christmas tree or wreath off at Tractor Supply Company between Dec. 26 and Jan. 7. On Jan. 7 the trees will be ground up and turned into mulch, which will be given out to those who would like free mulch.
“Dropping off trees will start the day after Christmas, and people can bring them up to the time we are grinding. The location is going to be right in front of Tractor Supply, it will be farthest end to the road from Tractor Supply,” Rowe said. “I will have cones, a section roped off and all that good stuff.”
Rowe said that last year they had around 120 trees donated, all of which were turned into mulch that was given out on a first come first serve basis.
“Christmas trees make a good mulch because it takes a long time to decompose and dry out, so it is longer lasting and holds moisture. It will also moderate temperatures in the soil,” she said. “It will create a blanket to protect plants that are susceptible to wind burn, or frost, any plants that can come up early. All in all, a very good mulch.”
Any type of living Christmas tree or wreath can be donated. Rowe said people have tried to donate fake trees and wreaths in the past, which will not work for mulch. Rowe also reminds people that all decorations and lights must be taken off the tree, and the wires needs to be taken off the wreaths.
Along with Tractor Supply, Rowe is teaming up with the Newberry Electric Cooperative and the City of Newberry. The City of Newberry will not only donate their Christmas tree, but they will also pick up any Christmas tree left on the side of the road in the city limits. They will then take those trees to Tractor Supply.
“We are proud to participate once again in the grinding of the greens this season. Keep Newberry County Beautiful spearheads this wonderful initiative, and we could not be more happy to help facilitate these once live Christmas trees going on to fulfill additional purposes. We all try to be mindful of the waste products we discard and if these trees can be put to additional uses, then it keeps them out of the waste stream and someone else gets to benefit from the trees life,” City Manger Matt DeWitt said.
NEC will be responsible for grinding up the trees, as well as helping to load the mulch in people’s trucks.
“Newberry Electric Cooperative is proud to be a part of this project, which is not only good for the environment, but also helps out the citizens of Newberry County,” said Debra Shaw, vice president of Member, Public and Government Relations.
Anyone interested in picking up mulch can do so on Jan. 7 between 10 a.m. and noon. Rowe said that people will need to either bring a truck or Tupperware, essentially something to carry the mulch in. There will also be free coffee and doughnut holes.
“This is an upcycling project. The trees will be used to help grow gardens and not rot in back yards,” she said.