Recycle your Christmas tree
Do not throw in garbage
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—City residents will again be able to recycle their Christmas trees this year, with Los Angeles officials today urging residents to avoid throwing trees in the garbage.
"Something as simple as recycling your Christmas tree can help Los Angeles move away from landfills and closer to reducing, reusing and recycling more of our waste,'' Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said. "The city can turn these trees into mulch or compost, which is then used for landscaping and gardens around the city. It is the gift that keeps on giving.''
Residents should remove all decorations and the stand from the tree, cut it into pieces and place it into the green yard-trimming bin. Residents who are unable to cut up the tree or place it in a bin can leave the tree on the curb on the weekly trash-collection day.
The city will also have 20 drop-off sites that will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 2. A list of drop-off sites will be posted at www.lacity.org.
Los Angeles has had a tree-recycling program in place since 1992. Each year, about 100,000 Christmas trees are recycled, according to the city.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Fire Department officials today urged Angelenos to recycle their live Christmas trees in order to boost recycling and reduce fire hazards.
The mayor and Fire Chief Brian Cummings demonstrated how to recycle the trees properly this morning at a fire station in the Cypress Park neighborhood.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Students across Los Angeles County will get free rides on Metro buses and trains for school-sponsored field trips starting early next year, under a program approved by the Metro board.
"It's so important that teachers continue to pursue enriching educational opportunities off campus, even when school funds are tight,'' said MTA board chairman and county Supervisor Don Knabe. "We want our kids to get the best possible education, and it's our hope that this new program will help.''
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is expected to highlight his eight years in office — particularly in the areas of public safety, education, business, transportation and the environment — when he delivers his final “state of the city” address this afternoon.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will be joined today by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Mayor Cory Booker of Newark, N.J., in a discussion at the Los Angeles Convention Center on the challenges of urban education reform.
Villaraigosa will also be honored at the United Way of Greater Los Angeles’ 2013 Education Summit for championing education reform. Although the mayor of Los Angeles has no formal role in education, Villaraigosa has made education one of his priorities since taking office in 2005.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Crime in the city dropped for the 10th consecutive year in 2012, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Police Chief Charlie Beck announced today.
The pair attributed the 1.4 percent reduction in crime from 2011 to continued police hiring despite the city’s large budget deficit. Villaraigosa said he would keep police hiring as a top priority in the city’s next budget, his last as mayor. Villaraigosa will be termed out of office and replaced by a new mayor July 1.
