Hawaii: Where and How to Recycle Your Christmas Tree After the Holidays and in January

Scroll down this page for local Hawaii recycling and responsible disposal options for holiday waste, from Christmas trees and wreathes, to lights, ornaments, wrapping and packaging. Many towns and cities offer curbside collection, even for Christmas trees. Counties and unicorporated areas typically have a number or drop-off locations.

Christmas trees are usually colllected from December 26th through the first 2 or 3 weeks in January.  Whether your tree is picked up from your curb, or you drop it off, be sure to remove all  remove all lights, wire, tinsel, ornaments, nails, stands,  other NON-Organic decorative materials and other materials that are not part of the original tree. This includes tree stands also.  Flocked trees are occasionally accepted (call to verify), but not artificial trees. Large trees (larger than the standard 6 - 7 ft tree) may need to be cut in half to be acceptable by your curbside garbage hauler.

The trees and wreathes are usually chipped and made into a mulch which is often made available, free to city or county residents.

Recycling other items:

• See this page for local options to easily recycle your Christmas holiday lights
• To find out how to recycle almost any other type of Christmas holiday waste from wrapping paper to toys and electronics, see this page. Ornaments and light strings are usually placed into your curbside collection bin. Some localities have year-round collection centers. The same is true of wrapping paper and boxes. 

Always follow the links (usually the blue, underlined name of the city or county) below for updated information, as these agencies often wait until the last minute to change dates or update their information. If your area is not specifically mentioned below, call your trash collection agency and ask!

Hawaii: Where and How to Recycle Your Christmas Tree After the Holidays and in January

• Honolulu, Hawaii
  Remove all ornaments and tinsel (and no flocked trees). Place them at the curb (in your green cart) for pickup on your regular every-other-week green waste collection day; drop them off at any of the City's Refuse and Recycling Convenience Centers seven days a week or at the composting facilities. Do not set out Christmas trees for bulky item collection.
  For households in the cart pickup system, please note that the tree has to fit inside the cart. Cut the tree into lengths up to three feet and trim branches to ensure that it will fall freely from the cart during collection. If cutting the tree is a bother, you can drop it off whole at the nearest City Convenience Center.
  For households on a manual collection route, cut the tree into lengths up to three feet and place at curb on your refuse day. If cutting the tree is a bother, you can drop it off whole at the nearest City Convenience Center.
  Condos and commercial buildings can deliver large loads of trees directly to composting facility - there will be no tip fee charge over the holidays for Christmas trees, courtesy of the City. Contact the City's Recycling Office at 768-3200 to arrange a delivery.
  Click here for collection schedules .
  Click here for list of City Convenience Centers.
  Please be aware that the State has discontinued the special treecycling sites at parks and other locations around the island. Do not bring your trees to these sites. Use curbside collection or look for the list of City drop-off sites. Condos and commercial buildings can deliver large loads of trees directly to composting facilities - there will be no tip fee charge over the holidays for Christmas trees, courtesy of the City. Contact the City's Recycling Office at 768-3200 to arrange a delivery.
  Refuse & Recycling Convenience Centers
  Open seven days; 7:00am - 6:00pm
  Closed Christmas and New Year's Day
  Ewa, Geiger Road
  Laie, Kamehameha Highway
  Wahiawa, Wilikina Drive (no green waste, take to Hawaiian Earth Recycling)
  Waianae, Plantation Road
  Waimanalo, Hihimanu Street
  Waipahu, Waipahu Depot Street
  Kawailoa Transfer Station (Haleiwa), Kawailoa Road (green waste not separated for recycling)
  Kapaa Transfer Station, Kapaa Quarry Road (Mon - Fri: 10am-6pm. Sat-Sun: 7am-6pm.)
  Keehi Transfer Station (Mon-Fri: 10pm-6pm. Sat: 7am-6pm.) (accepts only combustible waste and auto batteries; No appliances, compressed tanks or tires.)
  
  Composting Sites
  Hawaiian Earth Recycling
  Wahiawa, 65-1101 Wilikina Dr.
  Mon-Sat, 7:00am - 4:30pm
  Sun, 8:00am - 12:00pm
  682-5895.
• Kauai, Hawaii -
  there are green waste drop-off areas of the Hanalei, Hanapepe, Kapa‘a and Lihu‘e refuse transfer stations, from 7:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., and the Kekaha Landfill from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  A drop-off point for tree recycling is also at Kaua‘i Nursery and Landscaping on Kaumuali‘i Highway in Puhi, seven days a week. Trees can be loaded onto the truck that iss parked in the KNL driveway.
  Be sure your tree is stripped of tinsel, flocking and ornaments . Green waste sites close during inclement weather. .
• Maui County, HI - drop off or curbside collection
  Christmas tree recycling drop-offs are being offered at
  • Central Maui and Upcountry: Maui EKO at the Central Maui Landfill is open Monday through Saturday, 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.
  • East Maui, Molokai and Lanai: The Hana, Lanai and Molokai landfills are open Tuesday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
  • Kihei: Kihei Compost accepts Christmas trees for $5. Money raised supports school gardening with Grow Some Good. Kihei Compost is open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • West Maui: Olowalu Transfer Station is open Monday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
  All decorations, including tinsel, must be removed from trees before they can be dropped off for recycling. Most services are free, unless noted otherwise.
  For curbside pickup, the Rotary Club of Upcountry Maui hosts a donation-based Christmas tree roadside collection service for Paia, Haiku, Pukalani, Makawao and Kula from 8 a.m. to noon on Sunday, Jan. 2. A $10 to $20 donation per tree will go toward supporting local Rotary projects. To schedule a pickup, call (808) 878-2177 by Thursday, Dec. 30.
  Please Kokua, Christmas trees are a fire hazard; it is illegal to dump trees in gulches or at community centers, recycling centers, parking lots and roadsides.
  For more information, call the Recycling Hotline at (808) 270-7880.
• Oahu Christmas Tree Disposal -
  Automated Cart Collection:
  Place in green cart for composting (no flocked trees),
  Remove all ornaments and tinsel.
  Cut tree into lengths up to 3 feet and trim long branches so that the lid closes completely.
  Manual Collection:
  Cut tree into lengths up to 3 feet and bundle together.
  Place at curb on pick up day.
  Condos and Commercial Buildings:
  Condos and commercial buildings may deliver large loads of Christmas trees directly to Hawaiian Earth Recycling. Tip fees will be waived over the holidays.
  For deliveries call 768-3200.
  Note: For automated cart collection and manual collection instead of cutting the tree, dropt it off whole at most Convenience Centers, Kapa'a Transfer Station, or Hawaiian Earth Recycling Wahiawa.