The City of Atlanta has a special place where all hard-to-recycle materials go and that includes your holiday decorations. The place is called CHaRM, or the Center for Hard to Recycle Materials, located in the Grant Park area at 1110 Hill Street SE. CHaRM accepts all the Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa recyclables that you want to get rid of after the holidays. This includes Christmas trees, but don't dawdle, they will only accept them January 2-13, 2018. The list of things they accept is quite long but as it relates to Christmas refuse they take Christmas lights, styrofoam, plastic bags and wrap, old boxes, old clothes, and light bulbs. They don't take those little foam peanuts but UPS and other shipping stores do.
CHaRM takes all of the above items at no charge but remember, they are a non-profit so show some Christmas spirit while you’re there and make merry with the green stuff.
CHaRM isn't your only option, as there are additional ways to properly and greenly dispose of your holiday decorations.
Natural Christmas Tree recycling can be done as part of the Bring One for the Chipper program. This program is celebrating more than 25 years in Georgia. Sponsored by Keep Georgia Beautiful and private groups, the Chipper program caters to many communities in the Atlanta area. Anyone interested in getting rid of a tree can bring one to a designated drop-off location.
There are many drop-off locations, and you can view the list in two different formats, one for you Excel jockeys, and another for the rest of us.
»RELATED: 7 creative ways to repurpose your real Christmas tree
Credit: Jason Getz
Credit: Jason Getz
If you are tired of your Christmas or Hanukkah lights this year, Keep Atlanta Beautiful has two recycling events including electronics (your lights) every month. In January those events are Sat., January 6, 2018, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist Church, 2715 Peachtree Road NE in Atlanta and Sat. January 13, 2018, at the Old Fourth Ward's Coan Middle School at 1550 Hosea L Williams Dr. NE from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Keep Atlanta Beautiful event is also a good place to recycle any bulky metal like menorahs, candle holders or even the Kwanzaa unity cup.
For Christmas wrap or Christmas cards these items can go in your regular weekly curbside recycling as part of the Cartlanta Recycling program. This also includes dry corrugated cardboard boxes. Curbside recycling accepts aluminum and tin so if your Christmas or Hanukkah ornaments are made from these materials you can use curbside recycling to send them on their merry way. Remember to use the city-issued blue recycling cart or a larger container labeled recycling for any curbside recycling items.
What about glass? Over the past couple of years many recycling programs have stopped accepting glass, or it's accepted but not recycled, so consider taking glass items to CHaRM, the facility in the next paragraph, or consulting Earth911.
Christmas wrap and cards, dry corrugated cardboard boxes and glass are accepted at Your DeKalb Farmers Market in Decatur at its World Market Recycling facility.
Christmas wreaths or straw Kwanza mkekas can be disposed of curbside too, but to dispose of a cloth Kwanzaa mkeka consider taking that or any other textile item to the January Keep Atlanta Beautiful events on the 6th or 13th. Textiles are collected by USAgain, a green enterprise working to reduce textile waste going into landfills by recycling clothes and shoes.
For recycling not accepted curbside you can either drop off at CHaRM or take advantage of the city's Recycle Day every third Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon at The Mall West End on 850 Oak Street SW in Atlanta. This drop off option is also a good idea for multi-family homes that do not have curbside recycling.
The city of Atlanta website's recycling page has a wealth of information about how the city is committed to helping residents participate in waste reduction and sustainable practices. The department emphasizes the fact when residents think sustainably, it saves money by diverting recyclables from the landfill, promotes waste reduction and gives recyclables a second chance.
To find other recycling programs in metro Atlanta check out the Keep Georgia Beautiful affiliates page, or Earth911 or your town's website.
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