Ready to put away the decorations? Where to drop off a Christmas tree in Horry County

You decorated the tree, you opened the presents and now it’s time to part ways with your live Christmas tree. The Horry County Solid Waste Authority is here to help you make sure your tree finds a new purpose.

First, you just can’t throw the tree just anywhere. Many apartment dumpsters or communal trash collectors are asking customers to not put their trees with their general trash. If you follow directions from the Solid Waste Authority, then your tree will become useable landscape mulch.

Called “Grinding of the Green,” this program lasts from Dec. 26 to Jan. 29 and encourages the recycling of live trees to be turned into free mulch. Christmas wreaths are not allowed.

Before donating, make sure your tree does not have any decorations on it. Then you need to figure out where to drop your tree off.

If you live in Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach Conway, Aynor, Loris or Surfside Beach, the trash services will have curbside pickup for live trees starting in January.

For the rest of Horry County, the Solid Waste Authority has set up locations for trees to be thrown away. Trees can be left at any of the 24 recycling centers across the county. In addition, areas surrounding the coastal cities will have drop-off locations, like one on Mr. Joe White Avenue behind Myrtle Waves waterpark.

A full list of drop-off locations can be found on the waste authority’s website.

This story was originally published December 26, 2018 at 10:57 AM.