The first annual Community Christmas Tree Recycling Program for Homewood and Flossmoor residents hosted at Irons Oaks resulted in the collection and recycling of more than 300 trees.

“[It] was a huge success,” organizer Jennifer Molski said.

A Homewood-Flossmoor Community High School graduate, Molski recently moved back to Flossmoor after nearly 20 years living in Chicago.

“I was impressed by the strong, self-initiated [tree] recycling in the city [of Chicago],” Molski said.

After seeing Homewood and Flossmoor streets lined with thrown-away Christmas trees last year, Molski wanted to see a similar effort in this area. Molski initially considered pitching the event idea to the village governments, however the potential high costs prompted her to reconsider.

“I thought, 'we can do this on our own,'” Molski said. “So we got like-minded organizations together and said, ‘let’s do this!’”

The end product was a collaborative effort between residents, the villages of Homewood and Flossmoor, the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District and various other businesses and organizations.

Rather than going to a landfill, the trees have been mulched and will now be used on trails at Irons Oaks.

“It was a win-win event. And the people felt great about it,” said Molski.

Molski was excited to preview next year's second annual Community Christmas Tree Recycling Program, noting the potential of a home pick-up service and Christmas light recycling.