Staff Report

ROCKORD – Rock River Disposal will be collecting Christmas trees for two consecutive weeks from Rockford residents on their normally scheduled garbage pickup day starting Monday, Jan. 6, through Thursday, Jan. 16.

Non-bagged trees should be placed alongside resident’s regular garbage and must be free of all ornaments, stands, lights, and other decorative materials. Trees that exceed four feet in height should be cut in half.    

Residents may also dispose of any remaining yard waste during that same time period. Yard waste should be placed in two-ply biodegradable paper bags and not in garbage cans for this pick-up, as yard waste may freeze in cans preventing removal.  Loose branches and limbs should be bundled with string or twine (no wire) and placed out for collection as long as the bundles do not exceed four feet in length and two feet in diameter.  All bags, cans or bundles should not exceed 50 pounds.

Additionally, Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful (KNIB) has arranged for 13 regional Christmas tree collection sites in Winnebago and Boone Counties for citizens to dispose of trees. All trees must be free of all ornaments, stands, lights, and other decorative materials. Wreaths are not accepted due to wire frames.  Dropoffs will be permitted from Jan. 1 through Jan. 15.  Collected trees will be recycled by processing them into reusable mulch, which can be retrieved by residents for personal use at each collection site until March 1. 

For information is available the KNIB website .