Aided by a few paid advertisements to go with the press release, and information available in cyberspace, county officials are pleased with numbers of Christmas trees being recycled instead of dumped or burned this year.
Allison Fraley, county recycling coordinator, said she has been receiving fewer calls than normal regarding where, when and how to recycle Christmas trees, and she attributes that to greater public awareness of recycling opportunities provided through the county Web site, www.kauai.hawaii.gov, and through paid ads and news stories about tree-cycling opportunities in The Garden Island.
“We did more promotion this year than in previous years,” and people from county residential trash collectors to other members of the Kaua‘i community are more aware of the help that recycling items big and small means to the life expectancy of the Kekaha Landfill, she said.
The trees are shredded into mulch, then offered back to the public for their lawns and gardens, where it acts to keep moisture in, she said. As the trees will be shredded at different locations at different times, those interested in picking up mulch should call the county recycling office, 241-6891, for times and places when mulch will be available, Fraley advised.
Though the holidays for most people ended with the start of the new year, in some Christian religions the official end of the holidays is today, Thursday, Jan. 6, the historic day when the three kings finally found the baby Jesus.
The Rev. Napoleon “Nap” Andres, pastor of Holy Cross and St. Raphael’s Catholic churches in Kahaleo and Koloa, respectively, joked that the three kings, being males, wouldn’t stop to ask for directions, therefore didn’t find Jesus, Joseph and Mary until several days after the birth of Jesus.
Workers at the Lihue Transfer Station told Fraley that traditionally people bring trees to that facility for recycling through the end of January, and that this year participation has been good. A separate, greenwaste area is where people are directed when they bring trees there, she said.
Transfer stations at Princeville, Kapa‘a, Lihu‘e and Hanapepe are open seven days a week from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. except for county holidays, and trees are also accepted at the Kekaha Landfill, open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. except for county holidays. Officials at Kauai Nursery & Landscaping have also established a tree-dropoff location just off Kaumuali‘i Highway in Puhi, at the KNL headquarters, where trees may be dumped 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Trees placed curbside for residential collection won’t be accepted unless they are cut up, and Fraley said she is confident that county Department of Public Works residential-collection experts know enough about the importance of and specifics behind recycling that they will direct residents to correct recycling locations for Christmas trees.
Paul C. Curtis, associate editor, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or pcurtis@pulitzer.net.
