The Town of Okotoks wants residents' help putting holiday waste in its place.
There will be no changes to waste collection over the holidays, so residents should still have their carts out by 7 a.m. on their usual collection day.
When it's time to take the Christmas tree down, there are a few disposal options for those with real trees:
Drop off your tree at one of three locations by Jan. 31, 2023
Give your Christmas tree a new life after the holiday season by bringing it to one of three drop-off locations in town to be recycled. Every year, the Town chips hundreds of Christmas trees, and with three drop-off locations, disposing of your tree in an environmentally friendly way is easier than ever. Remember to remove all ornaments and decorations and bring your unbagged tree to one of the following locations:
- Okotoks Operations Centre parking lot (NE corner) - 1118 North Railway Street
- Okotoks Recreation Centre parking lot (NW corner) - 99 Okotoks Dr.
- Pason Centennial Arenas parking lot (NW corner) - 204 Community Way
The cut off date for Christmas tree drop-off is Jan. 31, 2023
Place trees in your green cart
Smaller trees can be cut and placed in your green organics cart.
Place trees at your regular collection area no later than Jan. 15, 2023
Place trees on their side, and don’t forget to remove all ornaments, wires, tinsel plastic, tree stand etc. from trees. Trees in bags or with decorations will not be collected. Trees will be collected and chipped onsite, which may not be your regular collection day.
To get rid of the excess boxes, wrapping and the like, residents can make drop-offs at the Okotoks Eco Centre. The centre will be closed Dec. 24-27, but normal operating hours will be in effect from Dec. 28-31.
When bringing items to the centre for disposal, help reduce traffic by limiting visitors to one member per household. Pre-sorting your recyclables before coming down can also help reduce in-person traffic and wait times.
Place all hard plastic together, bundle all film and plastic bags into one bag, separate newsprint from other paper and clean glass jars and remove lids.
It can be confusing to decide which holiday waste items go where, but the Town has some tips on how to dispose of those items.
- Ribbons and bows go in your black garbage cart
- Bring Styrofoam packaging to the eco centre for recycling
- If your blue recycling cart is full, break down cardboard boxes and bring them to the eco centre for recycling or store until your next scheduled collection
- Bring electronics, batteries, Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL) and tubes, paints and aerosols to the eco centre for recycling
