Yesterday's Christmas decorations become today's recycling

YAKIMA, Wash. — A week ago, they were laden with ornaments, bedecked with tinsel and twinkling lights and waiting to be the centerpiece of many Christmas mornings.

Now, stacked several feet high and several yards wide, the discarded Christmas trees lend their pleasant pine smell to the back lot of Barnett Implement, where Camp Prime Time is staging its annual recycling fundraiser -- an easy way to keep used trees from taking up valuable space in the county's landfills.

"We have it all set up: We have enough volunteers there to take the trees off; you don't even have to get out of the car. You're there five minutes at most," said Diane Eilmes, the camp's executive director.

This is the 22nd year the camp has held the fundraiser. Eilmes said the city of Yakima usually donates a Dumpster for volunteers to toss anything from the trees that can't be recycled.

"The city and the county see the benefit of this for them," she said.

Indeed, Yakima County prints the promotional materials for the fundraiser and helps spread the word, because the trees -- and everyone else -- are better off recycled than left to decompose in the landfill.

"We don't want organics in the landfill, and that's why we work with Camp Prime Time to do that," said Marci Venable, Yakima County landfill program coordinator.

About 30 percent of what comes into the county landfills, located in Terrace Heights, Granger and Zillah, is organic material: yard waste, food leftovers, etc. But in a landfill setting, the decomposition process results in methane gas, which contributes to greenhouse gases.

"I think a lot of people don't realize the amount of organics that come in here," Venable said. "The only thing that should come into the landfill is garbage. ... We could do a lot to extend the life of our landfill by diverting things that aren't garbage."

Trees that come into the landfill in a separate load are run through a wood chipper and composted by an outside company, Venable said, but if a tree is mixed in with garbage, it just gets dumped.

At the Barnett lot, four or five volunteers sit in folding chairs near a portable stove as they wait for people to drop off their trees.

Jim Russell, 65, has helped with the post-Christmas fundraiser for several years and said there are double the number of volunteers on the weekends. He expects this weekend to be the busiest, and encourages students to help so they can count the time toward community service hours.

Camp Prime Time receives more than $10,000 each year in donations from people who bring their trees to be recycled. Volunteers began accepting trees on Monday, and had more than $1,700 by Friday afternoon.

"It's a good project," said 86-year-old volunteer Carl Campbell. He's retired -- "mostly tired," he says -- and wants to give back. He doesn't work at the camp, located near Clear Lake, but he's been helping with the Christmas tree fundraiser for more than 10 years now.

Camp Prime Time serves children with serious illnesses or disabilities and their families, hosting them for free at weekend camps during the summer. Campers come from all over Washington to enjoy the outdoors during one of the 18 camps offered, each of which can accommodate 60 to 85 people.

Though the post-Christmas fundraiser started small, with just a few trees here and there, it now sees hundreds of drop-offs each year.

The fundraiser runs through Jan. 8 this year. On the last morning, Trees Inc. brings a few large wood-chippers and volunteers turn the massive pile of trees into bark in just a few hours. Camp Prime Time then sells the bark, bringing in more money for its programs.

A few years ago, volunteers kept track of the trees and said there were more than 3,000 dropped off for chipping.

The wood chippers and the Barnett site are all donated for the fundraiser.

Russell said he's been impressed with the community response so far. Most donations are around $20, but they've had a few hundred-dollar bills come through, too.

"The economy as it is, the people have been pretty generous," he said. "There are very few people that do not donate at least something."

* Molly Rosbach can be reached at 509-577-7628 or mrosbach@yakimaherald.com