Yard Waste in El Paso

One of the best programs that the City of El Paso Department of Environmental Services offers is chipping and mulching Christmas trees. Residents have until January 10 to take their trees (less ornaments, lights and tinsel) to one of the City's collection stations. From there the trees go to the Hondo Pass or Atlantic station where they are chipped and turned into mulch. El Pasoans are welcome to come and get the mulch for free.

I asked Ellen Smyth, the head of Environmental Services, what the City does with other yard waste that it collects at the stations. She said that El Paso doesn't have "any green waste program at this time except for the Christmas trees."

Other cities do have such programs. San Diego collects yard waste and converts it to wood chips, mulch and compost. Mulch and self-loaded compost are free. Norman, Oklahoma operates a composting facility year-round.

Denver not only gives away mulch, it teaches residences how to compost in return for these "Master Composters" volunteering to teach others about composting. The City of Denver web site also has an excellent page on the how-to of composting.