As we are approaching that time to pack away the holiday decor, we wanted to provide those of you that prefer a real evergreen with the locations of where you can take your tree to be recycled/disposed of correctly. Of course, your tree must be free from ornaments, lights, and tinsel.
We have also pulled some information for those of you that are needing to recycle that faux-tree that is losing more and more branches from old age each year or those worn out lights that don’t work anymore.
Natural Christmas Tree Recycling
We’ve divided the list by location and put it in alphabetical order:
Gladstone
Gladstone residents (proof of residency required) may drop off their Christmas trees at the Public Works Facility (4000 NE 76th St. – next to the animal shelter by Happy Rock Park) Monday – Saturdays through January 10th, closed on New Year’s Day. Drop off the tree Monday – Friday 8am-5pm or Saturdays 8am-12pm. They do offer this service for free until December 31st but start charging a nominal fee in January.
Johnson County, KS
Regardless of residency you can take your natural Christmas tree to one of four Johnson County parks: Big Bull Creek Park (20245 Sunflower Rd., Edgerton), Shawnee Mission Park’s Theatre in the Park’s parking lot (7710 Renner Rd., Shawnee), Heritage Park Marina parking lot (16050 Pflumm Rd., Olathe), and Kill Creek Park’s marina parking lot (11670 Homestead Ln., Olathe). Trees will be collected during regular winter park hours, which are 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., except at Shawnee Mission Park, which opens at 6 a.m. Collection will go through January 31st and then the trees will be mulched for JoCo parks or used as fish habitats in area lakes.
Kansas City – Northland
Residents of Kansas City, Missouri have a choice of 3 locations to take their natural Christmas trees for recycling. The Northland location is at 11660 N Main St. (just off of Hwy-169 and Cookingham Dr.). They are open Monday – Saturday 8am-5pm until January 18th. You may dispose of your tree for free on Saturdays or pay the $3 fee to dispose of it during the week.
Kansas City – Jackson County
Residents of Kansas City, Missouri have a choice of 3 locations to take their natural Christmas trees for recycling. One location is just south of the river at 1815 N. Chouteau Trafficway and the other location is just north of Longview Lake at 10301 Raytown Road. Both locations are open Monday – Saturday 8am-5pm until January 18th. You may dispose of your tree for free on Saturdays or pay the $3 fee to dispose of it during the week.
Kansas City – Wyandotte County
Wyandotte County, KS residents may drop off their tree through January 31 at one of four area parks: Stony Point Park (527 N. 86th – NE corner of parking lot), Alvey Park (4834 Metropolitan – south parking lot), City Park (2601 Park Drive – in the park around the corner on the grass), and Wyandotte County Park (aka Bonner Park, 631 N 126th – ball field parking lot).
Kearney
Kearney residents can take their tree to the City Recycling Center located at 504 E 19th St. It is free, however, the center is only open on Fridays from 7am-5pm and Saturdays from 8am-4pm.
Lee’s Summit
In the Lee’s Summit area you can take your tree to the Resource Recovery Park (RRP) located at 2101 SE Hamblen Rd. They charge $5/tree and are open Monday – Friday 7:30am-4pm and Saturdays 7:30am-3pm but will be closed on New Year’s Day.
Liberty
The City of Liberty is offering free Christmas tree recycling located at Bennett Park and City Park through January 20th. Look for the tree signs near the baseball fields. The city will be mulching the trees to use on natural surface trails in the city’s parks.
Olathe
Residents of Olathe may drop their tree off for free at the Yard Waste Recycling Center located at 1100 Hedge Lane, Monday – Saturday 8am-4pm (closed on holidays).
Overland Park
If you live in the Overland Park area you can conveniently take your tree to one of four locations: Young’s Park (7701 Antioch Rd.), Indian Creek Recreation Center (10308 Marty St.), Quivira Park (11901 Quivira Rd), or Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens (8909 W 179th St.). Trees will be accepted from 5 a.m.-10 p.m. through January 12 and will be mulched and used at City parks.
Parkville
The City of Parkville is offering free Christmas tree drop-off from January 1st through the 15th. Just take your tree to the lower parking lot at the Parkville Nature Sanctuary (behind the Platte County Health Department off Hwy 9 and 12th St.).
Smithville
Residents of Smithville can opt-in to WCA’s yard waste pick-up at no additional cost by calling them at 816-380-5595. Then you just have to set your tree at the curb on your usual collection day during the week of January 13-17th. I wasn’t able to confirm it, but you may also be able to take your tree to the Little Platte Park at Smithville Lake.
If we missed your area, you can find a more extensive list of tree drop-off and even pick-up services for your area at RecycleSpot.com.
Artificial Christmas Tree Recycling
Recycling a faux tree is a little more difficult than its natural counterpart but there are still a number of green options for your old tree. If the tree is in good shape, consider donating it to a thrift store or reselling it on sites like NextDoor, Facebook Marketplace or Facebook swap & shop groups (November is the best time to sell it). If you have a tree that isn’t pre-lit and not in good condition, consider using wire cutters to trim off the good limbs and creating a wreath or garland. You can also give your local recycling center a call to see if they accept non-lit artificial trees.
If you have a pre-lit artificial tree you can take it to the Midwest Recycling Center located at 2000 E. 19th St., Kansas City. They also accept string lights. The public may drop off their items without an appointment Monday-Friday 8:30am-5pm – closed New Year’s Day. (The center also takes a ton of other electronic household items if you have any other things that you need to recycle.)
We hope this post helped you find where you can take your Christmas trees to be responsibly disposed. Cheers to the New Year!