For many families, the holiday experience must include a fresh-cut Christmas tree standing in their living room. These holiday trees have a beauty and fragrance to them that warms the rental home. It’s as if a part of the outdoors have been brought inside. And when it’s decorated with lights and ornaments, it turns into one of the greatest icons of Christmas. However, it becomes a bit of a problem once the holidays are over. Many Atlanta tenants will have to deal with the issue of how to properly dispose of their tree. Dry pine needles are a fire hazard, so once you’ve taken down the decorations and ornaments, you have to remove your Christmas tree from the property as soon as you can. The hurdle here is that most dumpsters and general trash pick-ups won’t accept Christmas trees, so you can’t simply toss it out to dispose of it. What we’re going to do is talk about several safe and legal ways renters can properly dispose of their Christmas trees.
One of the first things you can do to dispose of a Christmas tree is to check your city’s website or that of your local waste removal company. In these modern days, many cities and towns have their own websites. In it, you may find helpful information for residents which usually includes specific, city-run programs designed for Christmas tree removal. They do a similar thing for local waste removal companies. For some places, this could mean a list of local drop-off locations; in others, they may provide services like curbside pickup or even shred your tree for mulch.
If your town provides a list of drop-off locations, that would be one of the easiest ways to deal with your tree. To find the most convenient location for you, just do a quick internet search. If you’ve settled on a location, the next step is to take your tree there. If your plan is to do it yourself, then be sure to use a tree bag to protect your walls and floors from scratches and to keep dead pine needles from making a mess.
In some areas, the local yard waste removal company can arrange to have your tree picked up; there are even others that turn your tree into mulch right outside your home. To utilize these services, you may need to make a special request on or before a specific date, and some may cost you a little extra on your trash removal bill that month. If either of these two options is available, get all the relevant information you can— including any related fees— before scheduling the service.
Outside of the services that your city provides or that of a local waste removal company, there are other options to dispose of a Christmas tree. If you want, you could hire someone to chop your tree up into firewood for you. You can also search for organizations that accept donated Christmas trees for use in environmental recovery projects. This is a good option since many of these projects use donated trees to help reduce beach erosion or create habitats for wildlife.
One option you must not do is to burn your Christmas tree on the property. You should never even consider this. It’s only a legitimate option if you own a wood-burning fireplace and if you had the tree cut into firewood. Otherwise, it’s very risky to light a dry pine tree on fire. You may injure yourself or even damage or destroy your 0location rental property and all your personal belongings in it.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) reported that it takes less than 60 seconds for a Christmas tree fire to set an entire house ablaze. Even if you do manage to burn your tree without burning down the house, the fire would most likely cause damage to the yard or another part of the property. This may mean that you, at a minimum, would have to pay some fines or deal with the loss of your security deposit.
The proper disposal of your Christmas tree should not be taken lightly. It is a serious responsibility. By getting the right information and choosing the best method for you, you can get the job done properly and keep you and your rental home safe.
At Real Property Management Executives Greater Atlanta, we know that the different aspects of life demand your attention— be it your business, or friends, or your family— and that may mean you can’t be on top of everything all the time. Our team of Atlanta property managers is ready to help you deal with that responsibility. We take care of all tenant communication, including educating them on important aspects like Christmas tree removal. Contact us or call us at 678-765-8383 today.
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