Tree Drop-Off Site Sees Busy Weekend
by Laura Monteverdi, Reporter
January 06, 2013 4:40 PM
The landfill off of Lyons Boulevard in Sioux Falls was all hustle and bustle on Sunday morning as dozens of people said goodbye to their Christmas tree that's been sitting in their living room all month.
“People are winding down un-decorating their houses now and taking down their decorations, that sort of thing and now they're bringing their trees to us!" said Richard Burgard, a seasonal employee at the landfill.
Adam Timat and his family finally said farewell to their tree this weekend.
“We have some family coming in tomorrow actually after the holidays and we wanted to get everything all cleaned up and ready to go for the family,” said Timatt, a resident of Sioux Falls.
However, it was much to his daughter's disappointment.
"It looks so boring!” said Savannah Timat.
For some, multiple celebrations were the reason they delayed the inevitable.
“We didn't have our 3rd or 4th Christmas until about the second," said Dain Hofstee, another Sioux Falls resident dropping off his tree.
Staff at the lot said that when you are ready to get out of the holiday spirit, there are some rules you must follow before you can dump your tree.
“One of the main things is to make sure your tree is undecorated and that all the decorations are taken off of them. That includes the lights and the ornaments,” said Burgard.
The lot accepts trees at no cost.
“There is no charge to bring them out here to us at the Christmas tree drop-off. Your garbage man has a charge for picking up a tree,” said Burgard.
The trees that aren’t made into woodchips will go towards other uses.
“There's an archery club here in town that will use some for their target shoots and also the zoo will use a few for their animal enrichment program,” said Burgard.
The dump site will be accepting trees until January 19th.
