Right about now, your old Christmas tree could be sleeping with the fishes.
Last month, Gilbert donated more than 600 Christmas trees to the Arizona Game and Fish Department to create a new home for the fish in Roosevelt Lake.
The Christmas tree donation program is part of the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Aquatic Habitat Program, which is designed to help improve fish habitats and the overall ecosystem of local reservoirs.
Gilbert collected the trees at various drop-off locations through town from late December through mid January before they were hauled off to Roosevelt Lake, tied to a cinder block and dropped into the water at select locations in the lake.
In total, Gilbert collected close to 2,000 trees this year through its annual Christmas Tree Recycling Program.
With the rest of the trees, the town did these things:
- A dozen trees were taken to a local animal sanctuary, Goats With Horns Animal Sanctuary, where they became food for the goats;
- Fifty were given to the Gilbert Fire & Rescue Department for training purposes;
- About1,200 were taken to the CTS Greenwaste Recycling facility and turned into mulch.