We would take quite a few of the Christmas trees and take them to the lake and sink them. They provide a home for the fish; then you know where to go fishing in the future for sure catches.

Dating to way, way back in 1960, my dad ALWAYS bought our Christmas trees from the local nursery, and planted them after the holidays... he was the ORIGINAL "recycler"... today, since I don't have my dad's green thumb, I have an artificial tree that I've been using since the 1980's.

I think the good thing about using the yard waste and christmas trees for mulch is that it replaces the need for turning virgin trees into mulch. But I have seen friends cut the tree trunks into chunks about 18-24 inches high and use them for stools or tables around a fire pit outside or just anywhere in the back yard, it's great for kids to sit and play on.

The City of Phoenix has collection sights where you can take your tree and it is ground up for mulch that they use in the parks. Our family and my son take our trees there every year.

my local home depot takes all christmas trees to mulch for parks. no wastes. also, they give away tree saplings.