With the holidays winding down, residents are looking for ways to discard their Christmas trees.
Residents can drop off their Christmas trees at Washington Park, 1200 Washington Park Drive, for free any time through Jan. 31. The Jefferson City Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department will recycle trees, grinding them into mulch to be used in local parks.
The department receives about 500 Christmas trees annually, said Ray Wallace, Parks resource supervisor and city forester.
Organizations such as the Missouri Department of Conservation and residents also take the trees and mulch, Wallace said. The Conservation Department's website states residents can place natural Christmas trees in their backyards for wildlife or put them in ponds for fish habitats.
All decorations and ornaments must be off the trees before dropoff, Wallace said.
"Everything must be off so that when it does go through a brush chipper or a pond, it's clean," he said. "It's just a pine tree, a spruce tree, whatever tree it is."
Residents can also take flocked Christmas trees - those covered in fake snow - to Washington Park or the yard waste facility at 2417 Southridge Drive for free. The yard waste facility will grind the trees into mulch.
The facility is open 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and noon-5 p.m. Sundays. The facility is closed on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.