S.D. Residents Encouraged to Recycle Christmas Trees

By Ed Joyce / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published December 25, 2006 at 5:50 PM PST

This story was published more than 17 years ago.

When you're ready to toss your Christmas tree, you can extend its life by recycling it. Recycling also extends the life of the Miramar Landfill. The tree recycling program kicks in Tuesday and continu

When you're ready to toss your Christmas tree, you can extend its life by recycling it. Recycling also extends the life of the Miramar Landfill. The tree recycling program kicks in Tuesday and continues through January. KPBS Reporter Ed Joyce has more.

Nearly 150,000 trees were recycled in San Diego last year – that’s about 1,200 tons that didn't take up space in the Miramar Landfill. Jennifer Ott is a recycling specialist with the City of San Diego. She says while giving pleasure during the holidays, the recycled trees keep on giving.

The trees are made into compost and mulch at the Miramar Greenery. So they make a usable product, there's no need for them to go into the landfill and get buried when they can be made into a usable product like compost, mulch or wood chips.

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The mulch is available free to city residents. There are more than 17 drop-off locations in the city. The recycling program continues through January 23. More than 100,000 tons of waste are recycled each year in San Diego rather than dumped into the Miramar Landfill. That recycling extends the dump's life by 24 days. Ed Joyce,

Ed Joyce

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Ed Joyce was the environment reporter and afternoon news anchor for KPBS-FM. Before joining KPBS, he worked as an editor/columnist with Copley News Service in San Diego. Ed has an extensive background in newspaper, radio, web and TV journalism. After graduating with a B.A. in Communications from the University of Washington in Seattle, Ed began a career in broadcast journalism. His work has included stints in public broadcasting, commercial broadcasting and education -- working as an affiliate professor of communication and reporter at the University of Idaho and Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. During the past 20 years he has worked in radio, TV and print as a news reporter, anchor, writer, editor and producer. Along the way he has won numerous awards for general news reporting, newswriting, feature and issue reporting and breaking news reporting from The Associated Press, The Society of Professional Journalists, San Diego Press Club and other organizations. During the mid-1990s, while working for Oregon Public Broadcasting, he was a frequent contributor to National Public Radio, including a feature report on the memorial service for 14 U.S. Forest Service "hotshots" who died fighting a wildfire in Colorado (the crew was based in a central Oregon town). He’s also filed reports with Marketplace, KQED’s California Report and Climate Watch and with national and regional networks throughout the United States. At KPBS, Ed continues his contributions to National Public Radio and other national and regional news organizations. He has won awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and San Diego Press Club for his environmental reporting at KPBS-FM-TV and for producing and anchoring radio newscasts. In 2007 he was selected a National Press Foundation fellow for Understanding Violent Weather II program. The seminars were held at the National Weather Center in Norman, Okla. In 2008 he spoke at a UC San Diego conference on U.S. National Security as part of the school’s Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation. Ed led a discussion with the 18 foreign government officials and academics about the political debate over climate change. In 2010, Ed was elected to a three-year term on the board of the San Diego Press Club.

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