Recycle Your Christmas Tree on January 8, 2011

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DALTON, GA - Recycle your Christmas tree on January 8, 2011 during “Bring One For The Chipper”. This free event will be held at the Home Depot parking lot at 875 Shugart Road in Dalton from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful volunteers will be collecting live, natural, undecorated Christmas trees from the public. In exchange for bringing a Christmas tree for the Chipper, residents will receive a free tree seedling or a free seed packet to plant at home.

Trees will be recycled into mulch that will be used for beautification projects and is available for free to residents within Whitfield County. “Bring One For The Chipper” has been a holiday tradition in Dalton-Whitfield for over ten years. The 2011 event marks 20 years of “treecycling” in the state of Georgia. This event allows communities to put discarded trees to good use. Over 5.5 million trees have been recycled as mulch or habitats for wildlife since the beginning of the program in 1991.

“Bring One For The Chipper” would not be possible without the support of state and local sponsors. State sponsors for this year’s event include the Georgia Department of Community Affairs’ Keep Georgia Beautiful program, The Home Depot, The Davey Tree Expert Company, Ferry-Morse Seed Co., and 11 Alive – Atlanta’s NBC Affiliate. Local sponsors include Keep Dalton-Whitfield Beautiful, Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority, Whitfield County - Georgia Forestry Commission, Whitfield County Public Works Department, The Home Depot in Dalton, and Dalton Falls Miniature Golf.

Christmas trees must be free of ornaments, nails, hooks, wires, tinsel, lights, and other decorations. Only natural, live, real trees will be accepted, no artificial trees please.

If residents cannot participate the day of the event, there are two additional options available.

1.) The City of Dalton Public Works Department will collect trees from the curb. City residents should call 706-278-7077 for pick-up.

2.) All four Convenience Centers managed by the Dalton-Whitfield Solid Waste Authority have drop-off locations for yard debris that is recycled year round. These include the McGaughey Chapel, M.L.King Blvd., Westside, and the Old Dixie Hwy. Landfill & Convenience Center. For hours of operation and directions visit www.DWSWA.org or call 706-278-5001.

For more details visit www.KeepDaltonWhitfieldBeautiful.org or call 706-278-5001.