For many families, the holiday experience must include a fresh-cut Christmas tree standing in their living room. These holiday trees bring with them the beauty and fragrance of the outdoors. The aroma of the pine can fill a rental home with memories of holidays past. And when decorated with lights and ornaments, it becomes an icon of Christmas. However, it becomes a bit of a problem once the holidays are over. Many Battle Lake tenants will have to deal with the issue of how to properly dispose of their tree. Dry pine needles are a fire hazard, which means you’ll need to remove the Christmas tree from your property as soon as you’re done with it. The problem is that most dumpsters and general trash pick-ups won’t accept Christmas trees. That means you can’t just toss your tree out to dispose of it. In what follows, we’ll examine some safe and legal ways renters can properly dispose of their Christmas trees.
One of the main ways to dispose of a Christmas tree is to visit your city’s website or that of your local waste removal company. These days, cities and towns usually have their own websites that have helpful information for residents. Come the holidays, they usually update the site to include information for specific, city-run programs designed for Christmas tree removal. They do the same thing for local waste removal companies. There are places that have a list of local drop-off locations; for others, they may offer curbside pickup or even have someone shred your tree for mulch.
If your town offers drop-off locations, you have one of the easiest ways to remove your tree from the property. To find the location that best suits you, just do an internet search. It’s quick and easy. 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. With either of these services, you would typically 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 you have these two options available to you, be sure to do your research before scheduling the service, including finding out any related fees.
Aside from the services provided by your city or that of your local waste removal company, there are still other ways to dispose of a Christmas tree. You can, if you have the means, hire someone to chop your tree up into firewood. You can also search online for several organizations that accept donated Christmas trees for use in environmental recovery projects. Find one closest to you. Many of these projects use donated trees to reduce beach erosion or create habitats for wildlife. This makes this option really good for the environment.
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 viable option if you have a wood-burning fireplace and if you’ve had the tree cut into firewood. If you haven’t, then lighting a dry pine tree on fire is a really bad idea. You may injure yourself or even damage or destroy your Battle Lake rental property— and all your personal belongings with it.
As reported by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), it takes less than 60 seconds for a Christmas tree fire to set an entire house ablaze. Even if you have successfully burned your tree without taking the house with it, there’s a high chance that the fire damaged the yard or other parts of the property. This could result in fines for you or losing your security deposit, at a minimum.
The proper disposal of your Christmas tree should not be taken lightly. It is a serious responsibility. By doing some research you can get the right information to help you choose the best method that gets the job done and keeps you and your rental home safe.
At Real Property Management Optimum, we get that your business and personal life demands a lot from you, and you can’t always be on top of everything. Our team of Battle Lake property managers is ready to take that weight off your shoulders. We take care of all tenant communication, including educating them on important aspects like Christmas tree removal. Contact us or call us at 320-289-4649 today.
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