Christmas trees may be recycled in green waste facilities in Hawaii. All trees brought to be recycled must be free of flocking, tinsel and ornaments. 

Here is a roundup of how to recycle Christmas trees on Oahu, Kauai, Hawaii Island and Maui Nui. 

The City and County of Honolulu 

On Oahu, many homes have automated curbside green waste collection for when Christmas trees may be placed after they have been cut to fit inside the cart — the lid must be able to close. Cut the tree into pieces up to three feet long and trim branches to ensure they will fall freely from the cart during collection.

For households with manual curbside collection cut the tree to lengths of up to three feet, bundle and place at the curb. These trees are taken to H-Power and are not recycled.  

Residents may drop off whole Christmas trees at any Refuse Convenience Center (except for Wahiawa Convenience Center), the Kapaa Transfer Station in Kailua or the composting facility in Wahiawa.

Condominiums and commercial buildings may deliver large loads of Christmas trees directly to the composting facility, and the usual fees will be waived over the holidays. To arrange these deliveries, please contact ENV’s Refuse Division at 808-768-3200 (option 7).

Kauai County

On Kauai, Christmas trees are accepted for recycling daily (except on holidays) at the green waste drop-off areas at County of Kauai refuse transfer stations from 7:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., and the Kekaha Landfill from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

At the Kauai Nursery and Landscaping in Puhi, a drop-off point for trees is open seven days a week. Trees can be loaded onto the truck parked in the driveway. 

County of Hawaii

On Hawaii Island, residents can bring Christmas trees to the following Recycling and Transfer Stations: Kealakehe (Kailua-Kona), Ke‘ei, Kea‘au, Pāhoa, Volcano and Waimea from 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on regular green waste collection days, the East Hawaii Organics Facility in Hilo from 7:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. (closed from 12:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. daily), and the West Hawaii Organics Facility in Puuanahulu Mondays through Saturdays from 7:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. (closed from 12:00 p.m. to 12:30 p.m.).

Residents bringing only Christmas trees to the East Hawaii Organics Facility’s tree-cycling area may proceed without using the County scale house. Residents with both green waste and holiday trees must go to the scale house to be weighed. All commercial haulers or commercial holiday tree collectors must use the scale house. 

The service will be available from Dec. 28, 2022, to Jan. 15, 2023. 

Maui County

On Maui, two drop-off sites in Kihei and Makawao have been opened temporarily for Christmas tree recycling, which will operate in addition to the usual green waste drop-off services. 

The Kihei Recycling Center (off Welakahao Road off the makai side of Piilani Highway) will accept Christmas trees daily between 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. until Jan. 8, 2023.

The Makawao Recycling Center (off Makani Road behind Kalama Intermediate School) will accept Christmas trees Monday through Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. until Jan. 8, 2023. 

Kihei Compost accepts Christmas trees for donation. They are open Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

Hana Landfill is open Tuesday through Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Maui EKO at the Central Maui Landfill is open Monday through Saturday from 6:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Olowalu Convenience Center is open Monday through Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 

The Rotary Club of Upcountry Maui will host a donation-based Christmas tree curbside pickup service for Pukalani, Makawao and Kula on Saturday, Dec. 31 only. A $10-$20 donation per tree will support local Rotary projects.

On Lanai, the landfill is open Tuesday through Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

On Molokai, the landfill is open Tuesday through Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Michelle Broder Van Dyke covers the Hawaiian Islands for Spectrum News Hawaii. Email her ideas and feedback at michelle.brodervandyke@charter.com.