Preparing Your Tree for Recycling

• Cut trees over six feet in half
• Remove all ornaments, tinsel, and stands before recycling
• Place trees three feet away from your waste containers

Please note that flocked trees and trees with stands can't be recycled and will not be accepted in green waste containers.

Christmas Tree Pick-Up

Last Updated: November 2023

South Coast

• Customers of MarBorg Industries can place trees next to their trash containers or in or next to their green waste containers on their collection days through January 13. Please call (805) 963-1852 with any questions.
• In the City of Carpinteria, residential customers of E.J. Harrison & Sons can place trees in their green waste containers through January 9 or on their regular green waste collection day thereafter. Please call (805) 647-1414 for more information and for curbside instructions.
• Owners and managers of apartments, condominiums, and mobile home parks should contact their waste hauler for Christmas tree recycling details.

North County

• Customers of Waste Management should put their Christmas tree out by 6:00 a.m. on collection days through January 13th or on green waste collection days thereafter. Trees should be placed at least three feet from trash containers or cut to fit inside green waste containers. Please call (805) 242-7937 with any questions.
• Customers in the City of Santa Maria should put their Christmas tree out by 6:30 a.m. on collection days from the week of January 9th. Trees should be placed at least three feet from trash containers or cut to fit inside green waste containers. For more information, please call (805) 925-0951, ext. 7270.
• Customers in the City of Lompoc should put their Christmas tree out by 7:00 a.m. on collection days from January 9-12. Trees should be placed at least three feet from trash containers or cut to fit inside green waste containers. Please call (805) 875-8024 with any questions.
• In the City of Buellton, customers of MarBorg Industries can place trees next to their trash containers or in or next to their green waste containers on their designated collection days through January 13. Please call (805) 963-1852 for more information.
• Owners and managers of apartments, condominiums, and mobile home parks should contact their waste hauler for Christmas tree recycling details.

Drop-Off Locations

If you don't have trash service or would like to get rid of your tree earlier than the collection date for your area, you can bring it to one of these locations for free:

South Coast

South Coast Recycling & Transfer Station
4430 Calle Real
Santa Barbara
(805) 681-4345
(free through January 15th)

MarBorg Industries
119 North Quarantina Street
Santa Barbara
(805) 963-1852

North County

City of Lompoc Landfill
700 Avalon Road
(805) 875-8024

Santa Ynez Valley Recycling & Transfer Station
4004 Foxen Canyon Road
Los Olivos
(805) 686-5080
(free through January 15th)

Santa Maria Regional Landfill
2065 East Main Street
(805) 925-0951, extension 7270

Waste Management Yard*
1850 West Betteravia Road
Santa Maria
(805) 242-7936

Waste Management Yard*
97 Commerce Drive
Buellton
(805) 688-7456

*Waste Management customers must show proof of customer status when dropping off trees at either Wasnt Management yard.

What happens to the trees?

South Coast

• Christmas trees collected by MarBorg Industries, as well as trees dropped off at the South Coast Recycling and Transfer Station, are ground into mulch.

Santa Ynez Valley

• Christmas trees collected by Waste Management and MarBorg Industries (in Buellton), as well as trees dropped off at the Santa Ynez Valley Recycling and Transfer Station, are also ground into mulch.

Santa Maria Valley

• Waste Management grinds the Christmas trees it collects in the unincorporated areas and then transports this material to a commercial composting facility in Santa Maria.
• Christmas trees collected by the City of Santa Maria are taken directly to this same commercial composting facility.

Lompoc Valley

• Waste Management grinds the Christmas trees it collects in the unincorporated areas and then transports this material to a commercial composting facility in Santa Maria.
• Christmas trees collected by the City of Lompoc are used as Alternative Daily Cover at its Landfill.

Holiday Waste Reduction Tips

For tips on how to prevent or reduce waste during this holiday season, visit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's website.

If you have any questions, please call the County Public Works Department, Resource Recovery and Waste Management Division at (805) 882-3600. Spanish speakers can call (805) 882-3637 and leave a message, and one of our staff members will get back to you.

Where to go

• Santa Barbara Area (2)

  • *South Coast Recycling and Transfer Station — 4430 Calle Real
  • MarBorg Industries — 119 North Quarantina Street

• Goleta & UCSB Area (1)

  • *South Coast Recycling & Transfer Station — 4430 Calle Real

• Santa Ynez Valley (2)

  • *Santa Ynez Valley Recycling and Transfer Station — 4004 Foxen Canyon Road
  • MarBorg Industries Recycling/ABOP Center – Buellton — 97 Commerce Drive

• Lompoc Valley & VAFB (1)

  • City of Lompoc Landfill (Scalehouse) — Avalon Rd (south end)

• Santa Maria Valley (3)

  • Bedford Enterprises, Inc. — 1940 West Betteravia Road
  • City of Santa Maria Landfill, aka City of Santa Maria Regional Landfill — 2065 East Main Street
  • Santa Maria Area Recycling Terminal (SMART) — 1940 West Betteravia Road

• Cuyama Valley (2)

  • *New Cuyama Transfer Station — 5073 Highway 166
  • *Ventucopa Transfer Station — Highway 33