When the holidays come to an end, residents of Dare County and its six municipalities are reminded that there are differing polices regarding the disposal of Christmas trees depending on where you live.
And there’s an easy way for the tree to be picked-up and re-purposed offered by a local Boy Scout troop, no matter where you live on the Outer Banks.
Remember that all ornaments, lights, ribbons, tinsel and other decorations must be removed from the tree. Any non-natural items left on trees could later become a hazard to animals and sealife.
Deck the Dunes, sponsored by Boy Scout Troop 117, will pick up tinsel-free trees on January 4 and 11. For $200, they will place ten Christmas trees on your dune after the holidays.
Ten trees are recommended for narrow lots and 20 trees for wider lots.
The scouts are trained to properly place and secure clean, decoration-free trees on your dune line in a position which will trap blowing sand and promote the growth of grasses on the dunes.
Trees are placed on their sides and secured by kicking sand over the lower branches or staking. The dense needles are effective at trapping sand. Needles fall off in the first year, with the branches decaying during the following year or two similar to sand fences.
There are a limited number of reservations available for this opportunity. Please use the link below to schedule your pickup or order your dune protection today: www.troop117obx.org/products.
Better Beaches OBX has been collecting trees since 2013 and is collecting Christmas trees this year for dune restoration projects on the Outer Banks.
“We are accepting them at Ocean Boulevard as well as at the Islander Motel in Nags Head. We could use a lot of help when we go to put them on the beach in Kitty Hawk and Nags Head after Jan. 18,” founder Donny King told Coastal Review Online. “We need either open trailers, pickup trucks, or empty work vans for transport as well as helping hands.”
The organization is currently raising funds to move 1,000 trees Chicho’s Pizza collected at their six locations in Virginia Beach, according to a Facebook post. The folks at Chicho’s are expecting to drop off the trees Jan. 18 and will help place the trees in areas on the beach. The fundraiser through Facebook is to rent a box truck for the following two weeks to transport the trees to various areas.
“With the rental of a Box Truck, we can better ensure that our volunteers can secure the trees in the best areas, making washouts less likely and giving us time to secure them so they don’t blow down the beach in bigger winds. We are also making biodegradable stakes for them where necessary,” the post states. “Any funds left over from the vehicle rental(s) will be used for more Beach Grass to plant in the areas where we put the trees as well.”
In the Town of Duck, Waste Management will also collect ornament free trees placed at the curb on December 30, January 6 and January 13.
The Town of Nags Head offers two options for Christmas tree disposal. You can place it by the side of the road in front of your property, and crews will make several passes in January to collect the trees.
Or, you can call Nags Head Public Works Department at 252-441-1122 to ensure they know your tree is available for collection.
If you own property or live in Nags Head, you can drop your Christmas tree off at the bulk item/brush collection yard on Lark Avenue on Mondays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., or on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
All Christmas trees that are collected by the Town of Nags Head or dropped off at the collection yard will be re-purposed by the Boy Scouts of America.
The Town of Kill Devil Hills will be collecting natural Christmas trees beginning on Wednesday, January 15.
Place your tree in the right of way adjacent to your property and ensure that it is away from all other objects. No artificial trees or other bulk trash items will be collected.
Trees must be placed in the right of way no later than Tuesday, January 14.
In Southern Shores, Manteo and Kitty Hawk, place unwanted trees curbside and the towns will pick them up in a timely manner.
In unincorporated Dare County, including Wanchese, Hatteras Island, Colington, Martin’s Point, East Lake and Stumpy Point, Public Works does not pick up Christmas tress left on the curbside.
They can be dropped off at the Dare County Public Works Recycling Center at 1018 Driftwood Drive in Manteo, or the Buxton Transfer Facility at 47027 Buxton Back Road.
Feel free to share other locations that are collecting trees in the comments below.
