Chipper's mulch is available to public

Though the holiday season is concluded, Christmas trees can remain useful. One local group has found a way to reuse those discarded trees.

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For the fifth year, Keep Columbia County Beautiful is involved with the Christmas tree recycling event Bring One For the Chipper on Saturday at The Home Depot on Bobby Jones Expressway.

Before the event, people may drop off their trees anytime in a designated area of The Home Depot parking lot or between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Saturday to be recycled into mulch, fuel or fish habitats, said Stacie Adkins, Columbia County Community Events manager.

"The mulch is available to the public," Adkins said "A lot of people come back year after year knowing it will be there. They can get a truck full."

Mulch and dogwood tree seedlings will be distributed as supplies last.

All holiday decorations must be removed before donation.

The Home Depot, Georgia Power, 4-H, the Georgia Forestry Commission and Waste Management formed a partnership with Keep Columbia County Beautiful to put on the event.

Another way to dispose of an unneeded Christmas tree is to donate it to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Many of the trees will be used in Thurmond Lake, fields or other natural areas as habitats for wildlife.

Trees can be dropped off at Riverside Middle School, 1095 Furys Ferry Road in Evans. The last day to drop off a tree at Riverside is Tuesday.