Christmas trees are dropped off in Austintown Township park the week after Christmas.

YOUNGSTOWN — It’s time to take down the lights, pack up the stockings, and store away the Christmas cheer for another year — but what will happen to the hundreds of live Christmas trees across the Mahoning Valley that are no longer decorating living rooms?

In Mahoning County, the answer is simple: Those trees will become homes for fish.

The Mahoning County Green Team in partnership with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources collects live cut Christmas trees at 14 locations across the county — and through curb-side pickup in Struthers — and recycles the trees as habitats for the aquatic life living in reservoirs, including Berlin Reservoir.

Peg Flynn, Green Team educator, said that ODNR ties concrete blocks to the trees to sink them.

“Instead of just throwing the trees to the curb, they are being reused,” said Flynn. She said last year, the Green Team sent ODNR 60,000 pounds of trees.

Trees are being accepted from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Jan. 31 at various locations (see inset box). Decorations, lights, and tree stands should be removed.

For the do-it-yourself recycler, the National Christmas Tree Association recommends other ways to repurpose old Christmas trees, including chipping the trees and using them for mulch, or placing trees in the backyard and decking them out with orange slices and strings of popcorn to attract birds. Christmas trees also make effective soil erosion barriers for lake and river shoreline stabilization.

According to a Mahoning County Green Team fall newsletter, each year during the holiday season more than 5 million tons of waste are generated — 25 percent more than usual. In an attempt to help cut down on the waste, the Green Team also has a recycling drive for another holiday item — wrapping paper.

“We take wrapping paper year-round, but we emphasize it at Christmas since there is so much of it used,” said Flynn.

Wrapping paper and greeting cards can be placed in brown paper bags and delivered to any of the Green Team’s community recycling drop-off points or with curbside recycling through Jan. 15. Ribbons, bows and foil wrap are not accepted. Last year, Mahoning County recycled nearly 5,000 pounds of wrapping paper paper and greeting cards.

Flynn said gift bags are accepted because they can be reused and repurposed by the Green Team, which also makes its own gift bags decorated with old Christmas cards. Flynn said business cards are also often repurposed as gift tags.

“We try to lessen the amount of waste any time, but especially during the holidays,” said Flynn.

Recycling spots

Locations accepting live Christmas trees through Jan. 31:

• Austintown — Austintown Township Park, 6000 Kirk Road

• Berlin — Berlin Township building, 15823 West Akron-Canton Road

• Campbell — Roosevelt Park, Struthers-Liberty Road

• Canfield Township — Fire station, 5007 Messerly Road

• Craig Beach / Milton — next to fire station, 1979 Grandview Road

• Ellsworth — Fire station, 6036 South Salem-Warren Road

• Goshen — Maintenance garage, 12649 Seacrist Road

• Green — Cemetery at state Route 165 and Beaver Creek Road

• Jackson — Jackson Township building, 10613 Mahoning Ave.

• Lowellville — Street department, 3 West McGaffney

• New Middletown / Springfield — Recycling center, 10720 Struthers Road

• Poland Township — Road department, 7508 Clingan Road

• Smith — Smith Township building, 846 North Johnson Road

• Struthers — Trees will be picked up at the curb

• Youngstown — CCA (former South Branch Library), 1771 Market St.