Christmas Trees · CR&R Curbside Pickup · Flocked Trees · Temecula
Christmas Tree Disposal in Temecula: When Is Pickup, and What If You Miss It?
In Temecula, CR&R picks up Christmas trees free at the curb starting on your first regular collection day after December 26 and running a few weeks into January. Strip the tree and cut it to fit the green cart, or cut it in half and set it beside the cart; flocked trees get landfilled, not recycled. Miss the window and a plain tree can still go in the green cart in pieces, go to a county landfill, or go out with us from $195.
Family-owned in Temecula since 2021 · Licensed & insured · 5,000+ loads since 2021
Wild West Junk Removal · 41713 Niblick Rd, Temecula, CA 92591 · (951) 837-8072 · Mon to Sat: 7AM-7PM · Sun: Closed · Family-owned and operated by Weston Molitor since 2021
The Curbside Window
When Does CR&R Pick Up Christmas Trees in Temecula?
CR&R picks up Christmas trees free on your first regular collection day after December 26, and the program runs a few weeks into January. There's no call and no sign-up; the tree collectors follow your normal route.
If you live inside Temecula city limits, CR&R is your hauler and the tree pickup comes with your service. The start date doesn't move. The end date does. I've seen it close as early as January 9 and run as late as January 19, so plan on mid-January and confirm the cutoff with CR&R at (800) 755-8112 once December rolls around.
- Starts: your first regular collection day after December 26.
- Ends: mid-January, set by CR&R each season.
- Cost: $0 for a stripped, unflocked tree set out inside the window.
Why Do So Many People Miss the Window?
Because the window counts collection days, not calendar days. If your trash day is Monday and the program ends on a Friday, your last chance was that Monday. Most of the "I missed it" calls I get in January are from people who counted to the end date and set the tree out after their last route had already gone by.
Prep the Tree
How Do You Set a Tree Out So CR&R Takes It?
Strip every decoration, pull the stand, and either cut the tree into pieces that fit in the green cart with the lid closed or cut it in half and lay it beside the cart. Trees taller than about six feet have to be halved.
- ✓Strip everything. Lights, ornaments, hooks, garland and every strand of tinsel. Tinsel is plastic, it doesn't compost, and it's the one that gets trees left behind.
- ✓Pull the stand. Metal or plastic, it comes off, along with any nails or screws in the trunk.
- ✓Best case: cut it to fit the green cart. Pieces short enough that the lid closes. That's the version the driver never has to think about.
- ✓Too big to cut? Halve it. Cut it in half and lay it on the ground beside the cart, not in the street and not behind a parked car.
- ✓Take the tree bag off. Those plastic disposal bags are handy for getting a tree through the house. At the curb, a bagged tree is trash, not green waste.
Wreaths and garland made of real greenery can go in the green cart once the wire and ribbon are off. Artificial trees, artificial wreaths and light strings aren't green waste under any circumstances.
Flocked Trees
Can a Flocked Tree Be Recycled in Temecula?
No. CR&R still picks up a flocked tree during the holiday window, but it gets landfilled, not composted, because the fake snow is a mix of fibers and adhesive that doesn't break down.
Flocked trees sell well in a valley where it never snows, and they're the one tree that doesn't have an easy exit in January. If you put a flocked tree in the green cart, you're contaminating the load, and the driver can tag the cart and leave it.
It matters even more after the free window closes. A plain tree can be cut up and fed into the green cart over a few weeks. A flocked tree can't. It has to go in the black trash cart, cut small enough that the lid closes, or it has to be hauled.
What's the Simple Rule for Flocked Trees?
Plain tree: green cart, as long as it's stripped and cut to fit. Flocked tree: trash cart or a hauler. If you want the easy exit in January, buy the tree green.
Where Trees Go
Where Does a Recycled Christmas Tree Go After Pickup?
A stripped, unflocked tree goes into the same organics stream as your green cart, which CR&R sends to its digester in Perris. That material becomes renewable natural gas and compost instead of landfill.
That's also why the rules are strict. A clean fir is ideal feedstock. A tree with tinsel or a stand still on it is a contamination problem, and enough of those in one load can get the whole load sent to the landfill. When a driver leaves a tree behind with a tag on it, that's what he's protecting.
It counts for the city, too. Under California's SB 1383 organics law, Temecula has to keep organic waste out of the landfill, and the city's SB 1383 program runs through the same green organics cart your tree pieces go in. The rest of what that cart takes is in our guide to what goes in the Temecula green waste bin.
Missed the Window
What Are Your Options After the Window Closes?
There are three: feed a plain tree into the green cart in pieces over the next few weeks, drive it to a Riverside County landfill yourself, or have it hauled. Here they are, cheapest first.
Can You Feed the Tree Into the Green Cart Over a Few Weeks?
Yes, if it's stripped and unflocked. A plain tree is still green waste in February. Cut it into pieces short enough that the lid closes and it goes out with your normal organics pickup. A six-foot tree is usually two cart loads, sometimes three. It costs you a saw and a couple of Saturday mornings.
Can You Take a Tree to the County Landfill Yourself?
Yes. Riverside County's landfills take green waste, normally for a fee, and in past seasons the county has taken up to three household trees free at its landfills for a few weeks after Christmas, flocked ones included. The county's tree-collection notice lists the rules for the year it ran, so check the current season before you load up.
When Does Having It Hauled Make Sense?
When the tree isn't the only thing going. One tree by itself is our $195 minimum, a quarter load. That same quarter load also holds the broken artificial tree from the garage, the boxes, and the furniture that got moved out for the new stuff, at no extra charge. Volume pricing for everything is on the junk removal prices page, and the yard side of it is on our yard waste removal in Temecula page.
The one option I'd take off the list is leaving it on the side of the house until spring. That's what most people default to, and it's the worst of the four.
The January Problem
Why Shouldn't a Dead Tree Sit Beside the House?
Because a dried-out tree burns fast. The National Fire Protection Association reports that about a third of U.S. home fires involving Christmas trees happen in January, and it advises against leaving a tree outside or in the garage.
January is when the tree has been standing dry for three or four weeks and somebody plugs the lights in one more time. Once it's out of the house, the risk doesn't go to zero. It moves. A dead fir leaning against the stucco next to the water heater closet, or stacked on the palm fronds behind the side gate, is dry fuel sitting against your house, and in Temecula it can sit until April without a drop of rain on it.
NFPA's guidance says the same thing I do: use the community recycling program if you can, and get the tree off the property instead of storing it.
Call Wild West
What Else Do We Haul in January?
The whole post-holiday pile: dead trees, flocked trees, artificial trees that won't go back in the box, light strings, boxes and the furniture the new gifts replaced. It all goes in one load, priced by volume.
One tree is a small job, so the math works best when it rides with everything else. Artificial trees are steel, PVC and wire, so they're not green waste and most recycling programs won't take them. A broken one goes in the same load as the real tree and the cardboard.
If an old TV or a game console got replaced over the holidays, that's e-waste, and it can't go in your trash cart. We take it and route it to an e-waste recycler.
Who Is Weston Molitor?
Founder · Wild West Junk Removal · Temecula, CAI started Wild West in 2021 with one dump trailer and a phone number, and I still answer that phone. Every January I get the same call: a dead tree on the side of the house, the green cart already came and went, and somebody wants to know if they blew it.
Usually they didn't. A plain tree can still go out in the green cart in pieces. When it can't, or when the tree is one piece of a bigger pile, we come out and take the lot.
"Strip it, cut it, and get it to the curb on your collection day. If the window closed and you've got more than a tree, text me a photo of the whole pile."
What Do Customers Say About Our Holiday Cleanups?
They say we came out on short notice and cleared the holiday mess. This Google review is copied exactly as it was posted.
★★★★★
Gave Wild West junk removal a call last min and Weston showed up extremely quick and was able to knock out my hunny to do list and get ride of the extra trash from Christmas. Was very clean and professional and went the extra mile to make sure our side yard looked great when the wife got home. Extremely fair prices, great attitude and was an awesome experience. Thanks again Wild West team. You’re the best in the west!!!!!!!
FAQ
What Else Do People Ask About Christmas Tree Disposal?
Here are the questions we hear most in late December and January about getting rid of a tree in Temecula.
No. CR&R collects trees on your regular collection day during the holiday window, so there's nothing to schedule. Just have the tree stripped and at the curb next to your green cart that morning.
About six feet. Anything taller has to be cut in half for CR&R to take it. Shorter trees are best cut into pieces that fit inside the green cart with the lid closed.
Yes, if they're real greenery and you've pulled off the wire frame, ribbon and decorations. Artificial wreaths and garland go in the trash cart or out with a hauler.
Not in any cart. Artificial trees are steel, PVC and wiring, so they're trash, not green waste or curbside recycling. Small ones can be cut down to fit the black cart. Bigger ones are a haul.
$195, our minimum quarter load. Green waste has no item surcharge. That quarter load holds about 3 cubic yards, so the boxes and the old artificial tree can ride along for the same price.
No. Leaving a tree on land that isn't yours is illegal dumping, and dry trees in brush are a fire hazard. Use the CR&R window, cut it into the green cart, or take it to a county landfill.
Keep Reading
What Should You Read Next About Yard Waste?
Start with the green cart guide if you're cutting the tree up yourself, and the yard waste page if the tree is part of a bigger pile.
- ServiceYard Waste Removal in TemeculaBranches, fronds and brush hauled from $195 a load.
- GuideWhat Goes in the Temecula Green Waste BinWhat CR&R takes, and what gets a cart tagged.
- GuideTemecula Yard Waste CalendarWhat piles up in each season, and when to haul it.
- GuideWhat Is E-Waste?Why old TVs and electronics can't go in the trash cart.
- PricingJunk Removal PricesThe four-bracket ladder and every surcharge.
Missed the Window? Want Us to Take the Whole Pile?
Send a photo of the tree and whatever else the holidays left behind. You get a load size and a firm price back before we roll out.
Mon to Sat: 7AM-7PM · Sun: Closed
Wild West Junk Removal · 41713 Niblick Rd, Temecula, CA 92591 · (951) 837-8072 · service@wildwestjunkremoval.com
Sources & References
- temeculaca.govCity of Temecula: SB 1383 ImplementationThe green organics cart program trees ride in.
- calrecycle.ca.govCalRecycle: SB 1383 Organic Waste ReductionWhy trees and yard trimmings are kept out of landfills.
- rivco.orgRiverside County: Christmas Tree Collection at County LandfillsThe county's free-tree landfill program as announced for its 2021 season.
- nfpa.orgNFPA: Christmas Tree FiresWhy dried-out trees are a January fire risk, and how to dispose of them.
Written by Weston Molitor, owner of Wild West Junk Removal. Last reviewed and updated October 15, 2026.
CR&R sets curbside tree dates each season and they can change; the window above reflects recent years. Hauling prices: $195 quarter load, $350 half, $495 three-quarter, $595 full 12-yard trailer, current as of October 2026.