RACINE COUNTY - They'll start coming down in the days and weeks ahead. One after the other, they'll be stripped of their ornaments, their branches de-tinseled.

Soon, families in homes throughout Racine County will have stopped watering them. The fragrant aroma of pine will be but a distant memory.

That's when town, village and city workers will start dealing with a torrent of tannenbaums, a cavalcade of Christmas trees.

Every community is a little different. Some schedule specific days when they'll pick up discarded Christmas trees. Other communities give residents a general idea when they'll pick up trees if they see them - say, two weeks in January.

While people put them out like yesterday's trash in most communities, these old holiday trees are anything but garbage.

Starting Tuesday, city workers in Burlington start scouring the city for trees, said Larry Gobel, the city's public works supervisor.

City workers do a brush run on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month. Most people get them out on one of those days, but some trees straggle out over time, Gobel said.

The city grinds the trees and composts the material, which the city uses in its parks. City residents can also pick up the mulch at the city's compost site.

According to the National Christmas Tree Association, holiday trees are recycled for five main types of large-scale uses: Chipping (chippings are used for various things from mulch to hiking trails); beach-front erosion prevention; lake and river shoreline stabilization; fish habitat; and river delta sedimentation management.

In a national survey, 93 percent of consumers who used a real Christmas tree recycled theirs in some type of community program, according to the NCTA.

There are approximately 30-35 million real Christmas trees sold in the United States every year, according to the NCTA.

Scheduled Christmas Tree Pickups in Racine County

* CITY OF RACINE - From Jan. 7-18, the Public Works Department will collect Christmas trees at the curb. All decorations must be removed from the trees before placing them at the curb for collection. There is no alley collection of Christmas trees.

* MOUNT PLEASANT - Residents should put their Christmas trees out in January on the day their garbage is picked up.

* CITY OF BURLINGTON - Residents should put their trees on the parkway in front of their homes, not in the street. The city will start picking up trees after Tuesday, on the second or fourth Wednesday of the month and at select times.

* STURTEVANT - The Village of Sturtevant will pick up discarded natural Christmas trees on Jan. 7 and Jan. 14.

Residents should place trees, with ornaments removed, along the curb the day before one of these two pickup days. There will be no pickups after Jan. 14.

* UNION GROVE - Village residents can put their trees out anytime between Wednesday and Jan. 31. Residents should put them by the curb.

For other communities, call your municipal clerk's office.

Life for Your Tree After Christmas

Are you wondering what to do with your tree? Well there's life after Christmas:

* Place your "used" tree in the yard to provide cover for rabbits and birds during heavy snowfall, then cover it with strands of popcorn and cranberries and place pine cone feeders on it to feed birds.

* Turn your tree into mulch to help make your garden nicer this summer. Don't forget to keep the tree clean and free of tinsel or decoration hooks.

* Watch for tree collection days in your community and get your tree out in time for pickup. Don't forget to remove all your ornaments and don't put the tree in a plastic bag.

Source: Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources