High School FFA groups participating in county wide Christmas tree collection

OGLE COUNTY – Local high school Future Farmers of America groups will be volunteering their time on Saturday, Jan. 10 to collect Christmas trees. The trees will be picked up at the curb and taken to a local chipping site where they will be chipped into mulch. Trees, with all their decorations removed, must be at the curb by 8 a.m. on Jan 10.

The FFA groups that will be participating this year are: Byron High School FFA, Oregon High School FFA, Polo High School FFA, and the Forreston High School FFA. The students will be canvassing the Byron area, the cities of Oregon and Polo, and the villages of Mt. Morris, Forreston, Baileyville, German Valley, and Adeline. Please remove all decorations, lights, and stands from trees and do not place trees in plastic bags. Wreaths and garland cannot be chipped and will not be picked up.

Chipping the trees into mulch is good for the environment as the trees don’t take up valuable landfill space nor do they pollute the air if burned. The mulch will then be available at no charge for residents to use for their landscaping needs. Residents may bring a shovel and container and take home free mulch when available at the drop off sites.

“This is a great opportunity for these students to help with a program that benefits local residents by making it convenient to recycle their Christmas trees,” said Solid Waste Department Director, Steve Rypkema. “At the same time, they can earn community service hours and help the environment. We appreciate their help.”

For further information, please call the Ogle County Solid Waste Mgmt. Dept. at 815-732-4020.