It’s clear that this past week was the time when most people finally took down their Christmas tree. How do I know this? Well, of course there is the timing of it all–the 12 Days of Christmas culminate on January 6th, the Feast of the Epiphany. This is traditionally when many folks finally take down their tree and put away their Christmas decorations (though, blasphemous as it may seem, we cleaned up from the holidays on New Year’s Day, because we had time to do so). But what really tipped me off was today’s morning walk.

You see, it’s trash day in many neighborhoods. As I traversed the sidewalks and streets today while walking my dog, I saw tree after abandoned tree lying on the curb, waiting to be tossed into a garbage truck. If I owned a pick up truck, I swear I would have taken it back into these neighborhoods and tossed each of these dying trees into the back of the truck. Then I would have driven them to a garden center or dropped them off at a municipal recycling center where they would have been ground up and recycled into mulch.

Does no one else find this tossing out of the trees as upsetting as I do? Why aren’t local businesses doing more to keep Christmas trees and other holiday greenery out of landfills? Don’t they realize how trendy going green is and how doing so could help their business? (Just this week USA Today named “going green” as the Top 3 business trend for 2008.)

If I owned a gardening center or any retail business for that matter, right about now I would be offering some kind of incentive for my customers to bring their Christmas tree in for recycling, such as a $5 off coupon on a future purchase. Or, if I owned a gardening center, I would recycle the tree, offer the coupon, and then use that recycled tree/mulch around the shop, which would save me money in the long run–no need to buy mulch this spring. Perhaps I might even offer customers the option of taking home that mulch for their own gardens, along with a coupon. It’s amazing what people will do for a discount.

I’ve seen just one or two ads in my local paper about nearby towns that are recycling Christmas trees if you bring them to their municipal lot. But what about the other towns? And what about the big trash collection companies like Waste Management and Allied Waste? Why aren’t they stepping up to help recycle Christmas trees?

It bears repeating that we Americans create 25 percent more trash during the holidays. Wouldn’t it be great if these towns, municipalities and trash companies could do something to cut down on that number–even if was just recycling Christmas trees? According to the National Christmas Tree Associations, 35 million Christmas trees are sold each year. Now imagine how much less trash there would be in January if all of these trees were kept out of the waste stream.

I’m thinking of writing a letter to the editor of my local paper on this issue. If it bothers you enough, you should do the same.

In the meantime, if by some reason you still have your cut tree and aren’t sure what to do with it–and don’t want to throw it out–consider these tips:

* Log onto Earth 911 and type in “Christmas tree” in the search box at the top of the page, along with your zip code. It will show you where you can go locally to ecologically dispose of your Christmas tree.

* Call your local gardening center and see if they will take back your tree to be chopped into mulch or can somehow reuse it (sort of like taking back boxes to a shipping center)

* Get out your saw and cut off the tree’s branches. Then lay them over your gardens to protect the soil for the rest of the winter. Or use these branches to create some kind of indoor or outdoor decorations. Finally, cut the main part of the tree into logs for your fireplace or to outline your garden beds.

* If your land includes a pond or stretch of woods that you own, let the tree become a habitat for other wildlife. You can sink the tree in a pond for the fish to enjoy or toss the tree in the woods where it can decompose naturally.

If you’ve got other creative ways to reuse or recycle a cut Christmas tree, let me know here–and include those tips with your letter to the editor of your local paper. Maybe we can inspire our cities, towns and local businesses to help cut down on the unnecessary trashing of these trees.