YAKIMA, Wash. – As the holiday season wraps up, many in Yakima are faced with the task of disposing their Christmas trees. Instead of leaving them on the curb, there’s an environmentally friendly option available.
Camp Prime Time, a local organization, is chipping Christmas trees at Pape Machinery. This effort has been ongoing for 36 years, providing an eco-friendly way to dispose of trees.
“If they can get it here, we’ll find a way to chip,” said Executive Director Margaret Filkins.
Filkins explained the benefits of this initiative.
“It saves space in the garbage cans and at the dump, because if people put it in the garbage cans, it goes into the regular garbage, and it fills up the landfill significantly quicker,” she said.
The event also supports Camp Prime Time’s mission to offer free camping sessions for families with special needs.
“They’re surrounded by other people with similar situations. They get to share their experiences with the people in those situations, and they get to just let go of all of their stress for three days,” Filkins said. “It’s giving people that experience that they’ve never had before. And we want to see them up there.”
The pile of trees at Pape Machinery is already substantial, with around 40 to 50 trees stacked high. By the end of the event, which concludes on Sunday, January 4, the pile is expected to grow six to seven times larger.
Chipping the trees into mulch benefits the environment.
“If you turn it into mulch, you can help your garden. You can take it in different places to help the trees and everything. It’s good. It’s better for the environment,” said Filkins.
The chipping event runs from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily until Sunday. Organizers remind participants to remove all decorations from their trees before donating. Chipping will begin at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday.
