The Town of Okotoks is reminding citizens to put holiday waste in the right place this season.
The tree
Christmas trees can be recycled at one of three drop-off locations until Jan. 31.
Trees can be dropped off at the Okotoks Operations Centre parking lot at 1118 North Railway St., the Recreation Centre parking lot at 99 Okotoks Dr., and the Pason Centennial Arenas parking lot at 204 Community Way.
Christmas trees can also be discarded by placing them out at their regular collection spot, no later than Jan. 16. Smaller trees can also be cut into pieces and placed in the green organics bin.
Whether you are taking your tree to a drop-off site, or leaving it out at your waste collection spot, remember to remove all ornaments, wire, tinsel and plastic before disposing. Trees with decorations or in bags will not be collected.
Recyclables
The Okotoks Eco Centre will be closed Dec. 24, 25 and Jan. 1, but will be operating under normal hours from Dec. 28-31.
To limit traffic, one person per household is encouraged when making visits to the centre.
Pre-sorting your items before making the trip will also help to reduce wait times and crowding.
The town has provided a few tips for sorting recyclables — place all hard plastic together, bundle all film and plastic bags into one bag and separate newspaper from other paper.
Other holiday waste
Here are some things to keep in mind when going through your holiday trash: dispose of ribbons and bows in your black garbage cart, bring Styrofoam packaging to the Okotoks Eco Centre for recycling, and bring electronics, batteries, Compact Fluorescent Lights and tubes, paints and aerosols to the eco centre as well.
If your blue recycling cart is full, break down cardboard boxes and bring them to the eco centre, or store them away until your next collection date.
There are no changes to waste collection over the holidays. The town would like to remind Okotokians to continue to have their carts out by 7 a.m. on their typical collection day.
Stay up to date with your collection schedule, find useful information such as what goes where and Christmas tree collection information, and sign up for customized reminders by using the free mobile Okotoks Waste App at okotoks.ca/collection.