O’ Christmas tree, to mulch with thee!

No matter where you hang your stockings in Los Angeles County, there’s a recycling program in place to give your increasingly brown Christmas tree a green send-off.

The Department of Public Works is picking up trees through January 15 in unincorporated areas of L.A. County. Simply place your tree curbside on your regular trash collection day. The City of L.A. will be collecting trees placed in or beside green waste bins.  For more details, please visit the City Bureau of Sanitation.

You can also drop off trees at numerous collection sites throughout the county. For locations and a list of city-specific tree recycling guidelines, go to http://www.cleanla.com or call 1(888)-CLEANLA.

Before taking advantage of any of these recycling programs, which transform the trees into compost, mulch or ground cover, make sure all ornaments, tree strands and tinsel have been removed.

By recycling your tree, you’ll not only be helping the planet, you’ll also be protecting yourself and your property from fire risks that come with old trees. According to the United States Fire Administration, dried out holiday trees account for 250 fires annually, causing deaths, injuries, and millions of dollars in property damage.

If that doesn’t grab your attention, here’s video of a spruce setting an entire room ablaze in 40 seconds: