The holiday season is in full swing, but soon it will be time for the décor to be put away and Christmas tree taken down.

The Ogle County Solid Waste Management Department is once again coordinating Christmas tree recycling in Ogle County.

The trees will be ground up into usable mulch instead of going to a landfill. Mulch will be available at no cost for pickup at most locations. Please remove all decorations, lights, garland and the water stand. If using a tree bag for transport, remove the tree from the bag and keep the bag for use next year.

Only trees are accepted at these drop-off points; wreaths or other designs with metal frames are unable to be mulched and are not accepted.

The drop-off locations are as follows. They will be in operation from Dec. 26 to Jan. 16.

• Byron: Byron boat launch lot, East Blackhawk Drive (Route 2)
• Forreston: 407 N. Locust St.
• Leaf River: 208 Railroad St. (near water treatment plant)
• Monroe Center: Lichty’s Landscaping, 309 Pacific St. (south of railroad tracks)
• Mt. Morris/Oregon: Oregon Park District Maintenance Department, 507 Hill St.
• Polo: Southwest corner of East Colden Street and South Green Avenue
• Rochelle: The city will chip trees left at the curb the first two weeks of January; nonresident drop-off at Atwood Park, 10th Avenue and 20th Street.

In some areas, FFA groups from Byron, Forreston, Oregon and Polo high schools will be collecting trees left at the curb Jan. 10.

Please have your tree at the curb by 8 a.m. for this service. As with drop-off, remove all decorations and do not place the tree in a bag. The areas where this service is provided are Adeline, Baileyville, Byron, Forreston, German Valley, Mt. Morris, Oregon and Polo.

For more information about this program, call the OCSWMD at 815-732-4020 or visit oglecountyil.gov.