Christmas Tree Recycling

The 2025–2026 Christmas Tree Recycling Program is made possible through a new partnership with Glass Half Full, sponsored by Gulf Coast Bank and Trust Company. 

Residents can participate in the 2025-2026 program through the following options: 

• December 26 through January 4: Call 311 to request curbside pickup using the “Christmas Tree” service request. A contractor will collect the first 400 trees requested through 311. 

• January 5 through January 9: Place trees on the curb by 5 a.m. on your regular garbage collection day. A recycling truck will follow the regular garbage truck. 

• French Quarter and Downtown Development District: Residents should place trees curbside before 4 a.m. on Thursday, January 8 only. 

Trees cannot be flocked or have remnants of tinsel.  All ornamentation, lighting, and tree stand bases must be removed before recycling pick up.  

For over 25 years, the City of New Orleans has partnered with the National Wildlife Federation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Louisiana Army National Guard in the annual Christmas Tree Recycling Program. New Orleans residents participate in the program by placing their trees curbside for collection or dropping them off at designated sites. The recycled trees are placed in the wetlands at Bayou Sauvage Urban National Wildlife Refuge to help protect the natural marsh and shoreline by reducing wave action and slowing erosion.

The trees also create new habitats for the birds, fish, and other wildlife that live in the refuge. Diverting trees from the landfill aligns with the City of New Orleans’ Climate Action Plan to decrease the amount of waste going into the landfill. This innovative program provides an eco-friendly solution for post-holiday trees. Over the years, the recycled trees have restored marsh across an area equal to almost 200 football fields in Bayou Sauvage. 

Thanks to all residents who participated in the City of New Orleans’ 2024-2025 Christmas Tree Recycling Program.  We collected 9,000 trees: one thousand more than 2023-2024.  Other contributors of trees for the recycling program include City Park’s Celebration in the Oaks, A’s Toy Soldier, AB Tree Farms and Home Depot in New Orleans East.

The trees will be sorted, bundled and airlifted by helicopter to be dropped in targeted sections of the Bayou Sauvage Urban National Wildlife Refuge in the spring. The project benefits the City of New Orleans and surrounding coastal environment while also providing valuable training hours for pilots and crewmembers of the 1st Assault Helicopter Battalion, 244th Aviation Regiment.