The local governments of the River Parishes have made Christmas tree recycling easy this year with readily available discard options.

It’s simple in St. John the Baptist Parish, where residents can discard their trees curbside for pick up through Jan. 16.

The St. John Parish Public Works Department will collect the trees throughout the parish, as residents are asked to follow that procedure instead of abandoning them at area landfills.

No matter where disposed of in the River Parishes, all trees should be completely stripped of decorations.

Residents of St. Charles Parish who place their trees curbside for pickup by Jan. 12 will be donating to a local wetlands protection and enhancement project.

St. Charles officials said the parish has maintained the Christmas tree project following the loss of state funding, adding the tress received each year — which can range from 2,000 to 7,000 — are used to positively benefit the region.

For those who don’t want to leave their trees curbside in St. Charles Parish, they can be brought to designated areas at the East and West Bank Bridge Parks in Destrehan and Luling.

The best part of participating in St. Charles Parish’s wetlands project is guaranteeing trees bought for Christmas 2014 don’t end up in landfills in 2015.

Discarding trees in St. James Parish is just as easy, as residents can call the Planning and Permitting Department at 225-562-2264, and the parish will pick them up from the curb.

There are, no doubt, quite a few River Region residents still holding on to their holiday cheer, but when the time comes to finally take down that Christmas tree, please do so in the proper way.