Holiday debris concerns environmentalists

Friday, Dec. 29, 2000 | 10:40 a.m.

Hallmark doesn't make a card for it, but discarded greeting cards, tons of ripped wrapping paper, broken boxes and dried out Christmas trees comprise a big part of the event that falls between Christmas Day and a week after New Year's Day.

And while almost everybody participates in it in some way, hardly anybody celebrates it or is even aware it is going on.

It is trash season -- the busiest time of the year for Las Vegas disposal service companies and a source of great concern for environmentalists, as tons of debris are added to the solid waste system.

"Recycling your old Christmas tree into mulch definitely is better than sending it off to the landfill," said Peggy Pierce, conservation co-chairman for the local Sierra Club environmentalist group.

"We also can help by, when possible, reusing wrapping paper, boxes and especially packing materials like Styrofoam. It takes 10,000 years for Styrofoam to decompose."

Amy Kremenek, spokeswoman for the Desert Demonstration Gardens at the Las Vegas Valley Water District, said this year her company is going all out to recycle Christmas trees to make mulch for its garden displays.

"As of today (Thursday) we have recycled 4,000 trees, and we hope to recycle 10,000 trees before Jan. 7," Kremenek said, noting that about 5 pounds of mulch is produced per tree. If the water district reaches its goal, 25 tons of yuletide mulch will be added to its 2 1/2-acre plant display.

The expanded recycling effort has been made possible by the donation of an industrial chipper by Vermeer and because of tree donations from area residents or from the unsold stocks of tree retailers.

Through 4:30 p.m. today, trees can be dropped off at UNLV, Sunset Park and Desert Breeze Park, as well as at the desert gardens at Alta Road and Valley View Boulevard. After today, all tree donations must be brought to the desert gardens, Kremenek said.

The facility, however, cannot accept flocked trees because the white coating contains a petroleum-based product that does not break down. Also, tree stands, tinsel and other ornaments must be stripped clean of the donated tree, Kremenek said.

"We use the mulch to maintain soil temperatures, prevent the growth of weeds and return nutrients to the soil," Kremenek said. "When people drop off their trees we encourage them to also tour the gardens. Even though a lot of it is dormant, it is still beautiful and so peaceful."

It has been anything but peaceful for work crews of Republic Services of Southern Nevada as they attempt to keep up with a higher volume of trash and garbage.

"There has been about 25 to 30 percent more debris than normal, but that is consistent with past years," said Dawn Christensen, spokeswoman for Republic, formerly Silver State.

She said on Thursday alone, the 1,900-acre Apex Regional Landfill, 15 miles northeast of town, received 7,000 tons of debris from Republic trucks. On a normal day, about 300 garbage trucks cart 6,000 tons of waste to the dump.

"Five to seven extra routes have been added, and we are paying five times more overtime than usual," Christensen said.

There is no day off for the collection of garbage. Republic workers were out Christmas Day and will be out Monday, New Year's Day, on their regularly scheduled routes.

"We remind customers, especially this time of year, that we will pick up their Christmas trees, but that they must not be taller than six feet and must be bundled," Christensen said, noting that no single piece of debris can weigh greater than 75 pounds.

Republic customers also are encouraged to save much of their paper and plastic waste for the pickups of recyclable products every two weeks.

Christensen said operations have been running more smoothly this year with the addition of transfer stations at 4455 W. Sloan Road in Sloan and 560 Cape Horn Street in Henderson. She said those facilities and the established station at 315 W. Cheyenne Blvd. are open seven days a week with varying hours of operation.

One thing that you cannot do with an old Christmas tree that was permitted for many years is dump it in Lake Mead.

"Although the trees provided nutrients for the fish as well as cover from the heat, not everybody was making sure they were tinsel free, so we don't permit it anymore," said Bert Byers, public affairs officer for the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

Police and garbage collection officials also warn area residents to break down boxes that contained higher-ticket items like televisions and computers because opportunists like burglars look for such curbside advertisements that tell them new, valuable Christmas gifts are inside the house.