Handy recycling of evergreen Christmas trees at NOVEC’s Gainesville Center

Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative will accept evergreen Christmas wreaths, garland and trees at its technical center at 5399 Wellington Branch Road, Gainesville, VA 20155 near the Route 29 and I-66 intersection. Customers may leave greenery in the front parking lot in the area designated by orange safety cones anytime from Dec. 26 to Jan. 11. Greens must be free of all decorations, metal ornament hooks, and light strings.

“Most people agree that it’s more fun to put up and decorate a Christmas tree than to take one down,” says Junior Martin, of NOVEC’s right-of-way department. “But cut trees and greens need to go before they become so dry that they become a fire hazard.”

NOVEC tree crews will chop the greens into wood chips. They will deliver the wood-chip mulch to interested customer-owners at no charge when right-of-way crews are working in nearby Co-op neighborhoods. Customers interested in free wood-chip mulch should complete the request form at http://www.novec.com under “Customer Services.” They should click on “Products and Other Services” and select “Wood-Chip Mulch.”

For more information about obtaining mulch or recycling holiday greens, contact NOVEC’s right-of-way department at 703-335-0500 or 1-888-335-0500, extension 1633 or 1661, or via e-mail: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

NOVEC is a not-for-profit vertically integrated corporation that distributes electricity and energy services to more than 150,000 customers in Prince William, Stafford, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, and Clarke counties, and the City of Manassas Park, making it one of the largest electric distribution cooperatives in the nation. For more information, visit http://www.novec.com or call 703-335-0500 or 1-888-335-0500.