The pine needles are dropping faster than anyone can keep up—and they clog the vacuum when you try. It’s time to undress the Christmas tree, put away cherished decorations for another season and dispose of the once-beautiful holiday centerpiece.
To the rescue: BSA Scout Troops 1564 (boys) and 1804 (girls), said Stacy Austin, a spokesperson for the effort. Usually, the recycling project is the first or second weekend after the New Year, she said.
With plenty of adult support, in a single day the Scouts do curbside pickup and take the trees to Tilz Soils and Compost for recycling into mulch. Bainbridge Self Storage donates rental trucks for the effort, Austin noted.
Suggested donations for the service are $25 for a tree less than 5-feet-tall and $35 for a tree over that height.
The groups earn money to fund Scout activities and ceremonies, including Court of Honor, which recognizes achievements and advancements; summer camp; backpacking trips; and Aviation Day at Boeing Field, Austin said, adding that it is their only fund-raising activity of the year.
Austin said that many parents as well as members of the American Legion Colin Hyde Post 172, a chartered organization, support the Scouts by driving trucks and pulling trailers. She estimated that nearly all the Scouts and 20 to 30 adults generally contribute to the effort.
A few tech-savvy adults also support the project through an innovative app developed by Carson Cole and now maintained by Andrew Peterson, Austin said. It serves as a reservation system and provides real-time mapping for the pick-up day, streamlining the process. Scouts and adults also put up banners and signs around the island, alerting residents to the upcoming tree recycling effort as. Additionally, troop members provide information at Safeway and Town & Country Market the weekend before the event.
Austin said she hopes Scouts learn the importance of community service, leadership and teamwork.
“Team leaders are assigned to groups, and they manage communication between the groups. No one goes home until the entire group is finished. Scouts are the team leads as well as tracking all the trees across the entire island that are being picked up.”
Even if someone doesn’t have a Christmas tree that needs to be recycled, a donation to the troops is greatly appreciated, Austin said. Troop activities and events can be followed on their Facebook page and website,troops1564and1804.org. Interested youth, 6th grade through age 18, are welcome to join the groups.
To make a reservation for tree recycling, islanders can go to treerecycle.net, troops1564and1804.org/treerecycle or scan QR codes.
