In many Christian households, the family waits until the beginning of Epiphany (January 6) to take down their Christmas tree. That’s because this date falls after the 12 days of Christmas (think of that traditional song “On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me….”).

This year my town is offering, for the very first time, Christmas tree recycling on Monday, January 5th, which is the day before Epiphany. As a member of the recycling committee, which organized this free service, we’re hoping that this date coincides with when most residents will be taking down their trees and, hopefully, not putting them out for trash pick up. It will be interesting to see how many people do end up having their tree recycled as opposed to letting the trash collectors take care of it–a sad fact that happens each year when millions of Christmas trees end up as trash instead of mulch.

Not sure if your town offers a Christmas tree recycling program this year? I would recommend clicking over to Earth 911. This site offers a searchable directory of recycling services, including seasonal Christmas tree recycling. In fact, here’s a timely article on the notion of Treecycling, the act of recycling a Christmas tree.

Even the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree in New York City gets recycled after it comes down on January 9th. While in the past it has been ground up as mulch and donated to good causes, this year Habitat for Humanity will benefit from the tree’s wood.

If you discover that, in fact, you do not have a tree recycling option this year, here are some other things that you can do to discard your tree in an earth-friendly manner:

* See if a local tree farm or nursery will take back a tree and grind it up as mulch. Or use your own wood chipper to create mulch for spring gardening. (Cover the mulch pile with a tarp until it’s warm enough to use.)

* Ask a neighbor with woods behind his/her house if you can toss your tree there. The tree will biodegrade naturally and even create a habitat for woodland animals.

* The Weather Channel’s DIY expert Danny Lipford offers additional ways for do-it-yourself Christmas tree recycling, including how to add small pieces of the tree to your composting bin.

What are you doing this year to keep your Christmas tree out of landfills?