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Christmas tree takedown: Goat-friendly way to dispose your tree

By Gregory Payne
Published  January 2, 2024 7:12pm EST
Holidays
FOX 29 Philadelphia

These goats will gladly eat your leftover Christmas Trees

Have a real Christmas tree you want to throw away or recycle? Consider donating it to the Philly Goat Project where hungry goats love to feast on the nutritious trees.

PHILADELPHIA - It’s that time of year when the Christmas decorations come down and the tree has to go. Which leaves the question: what do you plan to do with it all?

Here are a few options:

  • Residents can leave trees on the curb where the city will pick it up as trash instead of being composted.
  • You can also bring your tree to several drop-off locations throughout the city. The City of Philadelphia website has the hours and locations of all the city-run drop-off sites.
  • There are also several community collection events, including one that fulfills the stomachs of some four-legged animals.

Starting January 6, people can support the Philly Goat Project and drop trees off at the farm in Awbury Arboretum in Germantown, where goats love to chow down on them. 

"This is their favorite time of year because they get the Christmas trees. They’ll supervise us, they’ll watch us, they love the greenery. For goats, eating green things is very important to their diet," said Leslie Jackson, Philly Goat Project Volunteer Coordinator. 

Jackson said the trees provide goats with nourishment from January to about May.

Plus, the event keeps getting larger and larger.

The first year they received 200 trees, but the second year, they raked in an even larger number 

"Last year we got 2,000 trees and this year we are hoping for even more. We added another weekend, so, it’s the first, second and third weekend in January. The third weekend our friends at Laurel Hill have offered to let us use their space at Laurel Hill West. We will be collecting trees there," said Jackson.

The Philly Goat Project asks those dropping off a tree to donate $20 towards their group. 

In general, if you are looking to recycle your trees, make sure they are untied and have no decorations on them.