301 Used Trees Recycled In Milton

by Jason Wright / Appen Newspapers

January 13, 2009 MILTON - With a lot of work of some committed Milton volunteers, 301 used Christmas trees were used to mulch city projects.The Milton Grows Green Committee held the city's first Bring One For The Chipper event Jan. 3 at Fire Station 43 on Birmingham Road. Marc Arrington, advisory board member of Green Committee and chairman of Milton's Trash and Recycling Advisory committee, said more than 200 trees were collected, which were then chipped Jan. 8 for free after a generous offer by Freeman's Tree Care.About 50 more trees were added to the pile by Crooked Creek residents Jan. 7 when their waste hauler, Waste Management, partnered with the Crooked Creek Homeowners Association and Milton.

The company collected the huge neighborhood's Christmas trees for free and took them to the fire station to be chipped."Freeman Tree Care service [donated] the equipment and labor to chip the trees into mulch, for which the Fire Station will use for landscaping maintenance instead of using Milton tax dollars to purchase pine needles," said Arrington.At the event Jan. 3, the Georgia Forestry Commission donated seedlings of dogwood, green ash and red cedar to those who brought their trees. The leftover seeds will be used at Hopewell Middle School to add extra trees to the campus, said councilwomen Tina D'Aversa and Julie Zahner Bailey.