Dr. Karen Bell

Keep Liberty Beautiful

Can you believe it? It is tree mulching time with Bring One For The Chipper! While most people are winding down from the holiday, Keep Liberty Beautiful is gearing up for one of their busiest and most wonderful family events of the year. For families with a live Christmas tree in their home, KLB has an excellent way to repurpose it and help our environment at the same time.

To recycle your live Christmas tree, it’s important to remove all decorations, lights, tinsel, and tree stands before dropping it off for recycling. Artificial trees and wreaths are beautiful and convenient, but they cannot be mulched. Georgia Power graciously provides the equipment and workforce to mulch all the trees collected in Liberty County, turning them into useful landscaping mulch and soil-improvement material. So, please remember to fully “undecorate” those live trees before mulching.

On January 3, 2026, bring your tree and see how your participation helps reduce landfill waste and supports local environmental efforts at the Liberty County Recycling Transfer Station from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. It’s a fun, family-friendly event where you can also pick up tree seedlings and seeds while supplies last, making your involvement meaningful.

With the holiday season ending, many households are sorting through old items to make space for new gifts. This is a perfect time to recycle responsibly. Properly disposing of unwanted household goods and hazardous items, such as batteries, bulbs, paint, and electronics, helps protect our soil, water, and air quality. Your responsible actions make a difference in safeguarding our environment.

Recycling the right way helps protect our natural resources and keeps dangerous materials out of our waterways, landfills, and neighborhoods. Highlighting community participation in events like Bring One for the Chipper and the Recycle It! Fair encourages residents to feel connected and responsible for our environment.

Recycling your Christmas tree and other household items is a simple way to begin the New Year fresh while keeping our community clean and green.

KLB will host the Hinesville Recycle It! Fair in conjunction with Bring One For The Chipper. Both events will be located at the Liberty County Recycling Transfer Station in Hinesville, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Join us to make a positive impact and feel proud of contributing to a cleaner community.

Items accepted at the Hinesville Recycle It! Fair:

• E-waste such as computers, printers, monitors, televisions, stereo equipment, and cell phones (all hard drives are wiped for your security)

• Household paint (sealed, not rusted, at least half full; dry unusable paint with sand or cat litter before disposal)

• CFLs and fluorescent bulbs

• Used motor oil, antifreeze, and car batteries (oil and antifreeze must be in clean, disposable containers)

• Household batteries

• Telephone books and large catalogs

• Hardback books, paperbacks, and textbooks

• Prescription takeback for outdated medications (never flush medications down toilets!)

• Household goods, clothes, and shoes in clean, usable condition We couldn’t do these events without our amazing volunteers and community partners. From local businesses to civic groups, everyone plays a role in helping Keep Liberty Beautiful protect our environment and teach the next generation about responsible recycling.

So, join KLB for Bring One For The Chipper and the Hinesville Recycle It! Fair on Saturday, January 3! This is just one more way to give a precious gift to the earth for the holidays and start the new year with a cleaner, safer home.

For more information on Christmas tree recycling and the Hinesville Recycle It! Fair, contact Keep Liberty Beautiful at (912) 880-4888 or klcb@libertycountyga.gov, or visit www.keeplibertybeautiful. org.