There are options beyond sending your tree off to a landfill.

With the passing of the holiday season, another annual tradition is now under way: the removal of some 25 to 30 million real Christmas trees from homes across the United States.

Many students learn the three Rs in environmental science class. The trio of reducing, reusing and recycling can make a positive impact on the environment, especially when performed simultaneously. That lesson can also be applied to your Christmas tree.

Fortunately, across Alabama there are many options for responsibly recycling Christmas trees. One of the most popular ways is to find a natural use for them, including sinking trees in lakes and ponds to support fish habitat.

Rusty Wright, an Alabama Cooperative Extension System fisheries specialist based in Auburn, said fish are naturally attracted to submerged trees, for many reasons.

“Small fish use the trees as a form of protection from larger predators,” Wright said. “Larger fish use it as a place to wait for their prey to pass by. They also use it as protection from predators such as large, fish-eating birds.”

Additionally, Christmas trees serve as a surface for algae that supports many insects and other aquatic animals that fish use as food. That, in turn, benefits anglers seeking to snag those fish, who have their own role to play in supporting the environment.

“Trees help anglers … more effectively catch fish,” Wright said, noting that the “fish harvest, particularly harvest of bass, is critical to keeping predators and prey in balance.”

For decades, Alabama Power has collected Christmas trees to use as fish habitat in its reservoirs across the state. Since 1993, more than 60,000 old Christmas trees have been used to enhance the fisheries in company lakes, said Mike Clelland, an Environmental Affairs specialist with the company.

This year, Alabama Power is partnering with the city of Hoover to collect Christmas trees to use as fish habitat. Hoover residents can bring their Christmas trees, cleaned of holiday ornaments, to the Hoover Sports Park Central complex, 3458 Chapel Lane, through Jan. 31. Alabama Power will collect and store the trees until spring, when they will be sunk in various lakes to create habitats.

Clelland said it’s not only residents who are making use of the program. About 100 trees from a nearby Home Depot that remained unsold will also be recycled through the partnership.

Alabama Power uses old Christmas trees to enhance fish habitat in its many reservoirs, including Lake Logan Martin. (contributed)

Many other municipalities around the state are also offering drop-off location for natural trees. In many cases, the trees will be chipped into mulch for use by park departments. In some locations, the organic material is made available to residents for their gardens.

“Check with your local municipalities, as some have tree collection points,” said Jeremy Pickens, an assistant Extension professor of commercial horticulture, based in Mobile. “These trees are often turned into mulch and sometimes the mulch is free.”

Another option for repurposing Christmas trees, especially for folks in rural areas and with larger properties, is to use the trees to create natural habitat, for the benefit of multiple animal species.

“Christmas tree piles placed throughout a landscape can provide wildlife with escape cover and thermal refuge,” said Norm Haley, an Alabama Extension forestry, wildlife and natural resources regional agent based in Scottsboro.

He said the best method is to pile multiple trees on the ground. Rabbits, raccoons, opossums and even coyotes can use them as shelter, especially during the winter.

“These piles are not only used by rabbits but also by many game and nongame animals, including birds,” Haley said.

He suggested bird watchers spread peanut butter and birdseed on the branches to provide a winter food source.

By responsibly recycling and repurposing Christmas trees, Alabamians can provide one more gift this holiday season to benefit the state’s natural environment. Actually, that is two gifts, because recycling or repurposing natural Christmas trees also reduces the amount of waste going into landfills.

For a list of drop-off locations in Alabama where natural Christmas trees can be put to good use, click here. To learn more about Alabama Power’s environmental stewardship efforts, click here.

A version of this story originally appeared on the Alabama Cooperative Extension System website.