CENTER POINT, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Did you purchase a real Christmas tree this year and now you’re wondering what you should do with it when you take it down?
According to their website, the Indiana Department of Natural Resources suggests taking the tree to a designated recycling site, tossing it in your backyard to provide shelter for wintering birds and wildlife, chopping it up for firewood, and even running it through a woodchipper for mulch.
Another option is taking it to the Exotic Feline Rescue Center in Center Point. The rescue center will take real Christmas trees when you’re ready to take it down, as long as the decorations and lights have been removed.
While many tree recycling locations limit the time window that you can drop off your tree, the founder of the rescue center, Joe Taft said they can take them anytime.
“People bring trees out here for a long time after Christmas. They hold for a long time. So, we’re sometimes still giving trees to cats in June and that’s fun. If it gets passed that, then we compost them so it’s a good ecological sound way to dispose of your Christmas trees,” he said.
So, what does the Exotic Feline Rescue Center do with the trees? Taft said they give the trees to the big cats.
“The cats think it is a great toy. They roll in it, they bat it around, they rub their face in it. Sometimes they’ll sleep with it, it’s just a wonderful toy for them,” he said.
To share your tree with the big cats you can take it to the Exotic Feline Rescue Center located at 2221 Ashboro Road in Center Point. The center is open daily from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM.
Taft said to bring the trees during business hours if you can, “Bring them during the day, of course, you’d get to see a cat or two, that makes it a little more fun,” Taft said.
If you can’t make it during their open hours, Taft said you can leave your tree by the entrance gate and they’ll deal with them in the morning.
“When people bring their Christmas trees out here, they’re doing a good thing for the cats,” Taft said. “We’re open seven days a week and we will be all winter on. The best time to see a Tiger actually is in a snowstorm, should we be so lucky to get snow. So come on out and see us.”
