Now that the holidays are over, many Lexington County residents are disposing of live Christmas trees.

If you’re not sure what to do with yours, you have a few options that are beneficial to the community.

Have it ground into mulch

Multiple locations in the county participate in Grinding of the Greens, a tree recycling program offered by the local nonprofit Keep the Midlands Beautiful. The program allows residents to drop off their trees at one of the five county locations (and five other Midlands locations) between Dec. 26 and Jan. 19. 

The in-county tree dropoff locations are:

• Crooked Creek Park (1098 Old Lexington Hwy. in Chapin, open daily 7:30 a.m.- 11 p.m.)  
• Hollow Creek Tree Farm (228 Windmill Rd. in Gilbert, open daily 8 a.m.-5 p.m.) 
• Saxe Gotha Presbyterian Church (5503 Sunset Blvd. in Lexington, open daily 8 a.m.-5 p.m.)
• Seven Oaks Park (open daily 8 a.m.-5 p.m.)
• South Carolina State Farmers Market  (open daily 8 a.m.-5 p.m.)

Remove the tree from its stand, remove all lights, tinsel and ornaments from the tree, remove any materials used to hold the tree, and remove any tags, strings, wires or ties before dropping yours off.

The recycled trees are ground into mulch, available for free to residents at the state Farmer’s Market (3483 Charleston Hwy. in West Columbia) and Seven Oaks Park (200 Leisure Ln. in Columbia) on Jan. 21.

Keep the Midlands Beautiful was established in 1989 and serves both Lexington and Richland county, seeking to “engage, inspire and educate the Midlands to invest in our community through litter prevention, recycling, and beautification,” its website states.

Let the animals have it

For the third year, Rig Farm and Rescue of Lexington is accepting Christmas trees for their farm animals. The farm is taking trees until the middle of January and can be contacted at (803) 354-2158 to schedule a drop-off.

The trees dropped off at the rescue provide enrichment to the variety of animals on the farm, including goats, chickens, cows and donkeys. According to the rescue, all of the animals take part in enjoying these Christmas trees.

If you plan on dropping off a tree, make sure that there was no tampering – this includes pesticides, fake snow, bleaching or anything that can harm an animal.