RDCO to offer free Christmas tree chipping

Central Okanagan residents will have a few options for disposing their trees following the Christmas season.

The Regional District of Central Okanagan’s (RDCO) Waste Reduction office will open Chip It locations, where trees will be chipped and composted into a nutrient rich compost called GlenGrow.

Drop-off locations for the Chip It program will be open at select locations between December 26 to January 31:

Kelowna

• Ben Lee Park (parking lot of Houghton Road)
• Behind the Capital News Centre (on the Lequime ring road)
• Glenmore Landfill (2710 John Hindle Drive)
  • Monday to Sunday 7:30 a.m. – 4:45 p.m.
  • Closed Dec. 25 and 26 and Jan. 1
  • Three tree limit; load must be tarped

West Kelowna and Peachland

• Westside Residential Waste Disposal and Recycling Centre (2640 Asquith Road)
  • Friday – Monday, 7:30 a.m. – 3:50 p.m.
  • Closed Dec. 25 and Jan. 1

Lake Country

• Jack Seaton Park (1950 Camp Road)

All decorations and tinsel, as well as any bags or material used for transporting the trees, must be removed prior to recycling as the materials will interfere with the composting process.

The RDCO will also accept trees as yard waste if they are cut into pieces no more that 5 centimetres in diameter and 1 metre in length. Yard waste collection will resume on March 1, 2022.