By Jim Melwert

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Today is the first day Philadelphians can drop off their Christmas trees for recycling.

Leave your tree on the curb and it ends up in a landfill, bring it to one of three locations across the city and it gets used by the Department of Parks and Recreation, either for composting or ground up for mulch.

That’s important for people like Dan Anthony from Germantown. “We have to be more conscious of how we recycle and get rid of waste, so that’s the main reason why I’m here.”

For George Clark it was more about convenience. “That’s certainly an added benefit, but my wife wanted it dealt with so I had to get rid of it.”

They can be dropped off today through January 17th at three locations: Domino Lane and Umbria Street, 3033 S. 63rd Street, or State Road and Ashburner Street. But, they have to have all the decorations removed, they can’t be tied, and they should not be in a plastic bag.

There’s no curbside pick-up for recycling. Trees left on the curb are handled similar to regular trash. The city says the tree recycling program returns the trees to the earth, helping to cut down on the amount of trees that end up in landfills.