12 Places to Recycle Your Christmas Tree in The Rockford Area

I have a feeling a lot of people are going to keep their Christmas decorations up longer this year because 2020 just needs that extra joy. But for some people, post Christmas means it's time to take down the decorations and ditch that tree. A fake tree is easy, just put it back in the attic or crawl space, but real trees are a little more complicated.

One things for sure, you should definitely recycle your real tree. In the Rockford area, there are 12 recycling locations to get rid of your tree according to Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful. The Christmas tree recycling is happening from January 1-15 and there's a ton of locations around the Stateline.

Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful details -

Find a location from our list to dispose of your real Christmas tree once you remove all wiring, ornaments and lights. Then starting around January 7, you can come back and get FREE mulch from the trees chipped and mulched. (While supplies last.) This program closes at the end of February.

Don't forget that before you recycle to remove all decorations, tinsel and lights from the tree.

Once your tree is bare, here's where you can drop it off. 

Rockford Locations -

• Sandy Hollow Golf Course - 2670 Sandy Hollow Road, West Lot 
• Levings Lake - 1420 S. Pierpoint Ave. East entrance South Johnston Ave. at Montague 
• Andrews Park - 800 North Central Ave. 
• Gambino Park - 4421 Pepper Drive West of North Alpine 
• Alpine Park - 950 South Alpine Road 

Stateline Locations - 

• Loves Park - Martin Park 5600 Park Ridge Road sound of Riverside; Northeast parking lot
• Cherry Valley - Baumann Park South Walnut Street Daylight hours only
• Rockton - Rockton Boat Ramp Parking Area About 830 E. Main St. opposite ball field 
• Roscoe - Valley View Farms 6440 Belvidere Road
• Village of Davis - Davis Village Hall104 E. McKimmey 
• Pecatonica - Pecatonica Wetlands Forest Preserve 4550 N. Pecatonica Road near picnic area
• Harlem Township - Schoonmaker Park 10500 Ventura BLVD. Machesney Park 

Don't forget they do NOT accept wreaths, flocked trees, or stands. Happy tree recycling!

H/T KNIB