NBC25 NEWS - Now that Christmas is over, taking down those decorations will be inevitable for many in the coming days and weeks.

But what do you do with your tree that once stood gleaming in your home?  There’s an eco-friendly way to dispose of your Christmas tree.

The Washington County landfill is ready to take them off your hands for free.

"Before 1995 a large segment of what was filling the landfill was brush and lawn debris.  We no longer do that in Washington County.  Most of all of that material is processed into a new product and sold either as a compost or mulch," explains Harvey Hoch of Washington County Recycling.

You can buy a ton of mulch for just $15 and compost sells for $12 a ton.

In Waynesboro, the Washington Township Transfer Station takes thousands of Christmas trees each year for a small fee.

Lynn Taylor, an employee, says, “The charge is a dollar and they go to our brush pile to be recycled into mulch for the different parks throughout the area."

It's important to take off all lights and of course ornaments.  If you decorated your tree with tinsel, you need to remove as much of it as you can from the branches.

Hoch adds, "Our tolerance is fairly good.  There are cases but very few when we've had to tell someone that we have to reject a tree."

"We just ask for the regular old natural tree," Taylor says.

Some recycling centers are accepting trees for a limited time.

Here’s a list of centers that are accepting trees in your area:

Pennsylvania:
Washington Township Transfer Station in Waynesboro

Virginia:
All citizens’ convenience sites in Frederick County except the Greenwood Road facility

West Virginia:
Grapevine Road recycling center in Martinsburg
South Berkeley recycling center in Inwood
Tyson’s Tree Wood Recycling in Charles Town

Maryland:
Forty West Landfill in Hagerstown
Dargan Convenience Center in Sharpsburg
Greensburg Convenience Center in Smithsburg
Hancock Convenience Center in Hancock
Kaetzel Convenience Center in Brownsville
Kemptown Park in Monrovia
Middletown Park in Middletown
Point of Rocks Ruritan Club in Point of Rocks
Reichs Ford Road Recycling Center in Frederick
Eyler Road Park in Thurmont
Heritage Farm Park in Walkersville