It’s Christmas time recycling time in ABQ, Rio Rancho

Q: We are new to the area, in Rio Rancho, and wonder if there is a place here in the city to recycle our Christmas tree. We’ve not seen any announcements and don’t know what to do with it. Do you have information you can share with us? — New to R.R.

A: I have good news for you. Yes, there is a responsible way to dispose of your real Christmas tree.

I poked about the City of Rio Rancho website and found this information: through Jan. 12, from 8 a.m to 5 p.m. daily, you can deliver your real Christmas tree to the Rio Rancho Sports Complex, 3501 High Resort Blvd., and your tree will be mulched, free of charge.

The service is one of the finest things any community can offer, so I highly recommend that you partake.

You must remove decorations from the tree before handing it over. I doubt the tree came to you wearing lights and tinsel, so remember, it all needs to come off the tree. If you have a neighbor that is also needing to dispose of a tree, you can take up to five at a time to the Sports Complex. Just remember — no landscape prunings, other green waste or commercial waste is accepted at this event.

In the city of Albuquerque, there is also Christmas Tree recycling happening.

You can drop off your real tree through Jan. 11, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and the same guidelines apply.

There are three locations in Albuquerque to deliver your tree: Ladera Golf Course, 3401 Ladera Drive NW; Montessa Park Convenience Center, 3512 Los Picaros Road SE (closed Thursday and Friday to drop off); and Eagle Rock Convenience Center, 6301 Eagle Rock Ave. NE.

So there you go. A terrific, responsible way to give your holiday treasure a way to continue doing good work. Just please remember to tie down or tarp the trees so they don’t become a road hazard on the way. The tree weighs a lot less now and can all too easily be blown out of a truck bed, so please tie it down while transporting.

Another fun thing you can do with the tree is move it to a patio and make a bird feeder out of it. Hang strands of popped popcorn, or mount a few plastic dishes snugly into the tree and keep them filled with bird seed.

At the retail level, you can find seed cylinders that you can hang in the tree. If you know of any trees in your neighborhood that have dropped pine cones, get a few and smear them full of peanut butter, then hang them in your tree. You can attract and offer food to our feathered friends and get to watch as the tree becomes a good place to get a meal. Be sure to set out some dishes of water and keep it fresh to complete the menu and you’ll be surprised who’ll come to your diner.

Thanks for asking how to tend to those spent trees, and Happy New Year while you’re out there Diggin’ In!

Tracey Fitzgibbon is a certified nurseryman. Send garden-related questions to Diggin’ In, Albuquerque Journal, 7777 Jefferson NE, Albuquerque, N.M. 87109, or to features@abqjournal.com.