As the holiday season draws to a close, many of you are lively contemplating the fate of your live Christmas trees.

In Baldwin County, plans are in place to collect and recycle trees, aiming to contribute to environmental improvement and reduce waste.

Baldwin County Systems Technician Amy Galemore said the county will accept Christmas trees from Dec. 20 through Jan. 16.

"The trees just need to be real and empty (no tinsel, ornaments, etc.)," Galemore said. "The trees will be placed into our yard debris pile and turned into compost that residents are able to purchase."

Drop-Off Locations

- Bay Minette Transfer Station: 4291 Nicholsville Road, Bay Minette
- Spanish Fort Volunteer Fire Department: 7580 Spanish Fort Blvd., Spanish Fort
- MacBride Landfill: 26941 McBride Road, Loxley
- Baldwin County Central Annex: 22251 Palmer St., Robertsdale
- Fairhope Satellite Courthouse: 1100 Fairhope Ave., Fairhope
- Magnolia Landfill: 15093 Landfill Drive, Summerdale
- Foley Satellite Courthouse: 201 E. Section Ave., Foley
- Perdido Beach VFD: 8450 Escambia Ave., Perdido Beach
- Eastfork Landfill: 17917 CC Road, Elberta

Gulf State Park
Since the 1980s, Gulf State Park has been accepting Christmas trees to help restore dunes along the beaches.

"We have a section of the parking lot that we keep unoccupied, and people can bring their trees all the way through the month of January," Park Naturalist Hannah Russell said. "We take those dead trees, and we lay them along the dune line, and it helps build up sand to build more dunes."

According to Russell, dunes are crucial to the beaches because they help prevent flooding during severe weather.

"When we get these large hurricanes or large storms, the water comes crashing down," she said. "These dunes take a lot of blunt force and prevent a lot of flooding; not to say they keep flooding from happening, but they keep it from being as severe."

Dunes are also an ecosystem within themselves and act as a habitat for animals along the beach.

Trees can be delivered to the Gulf State Park from Dec. 26 through the end of January.