RAPID CITY, SD – As the holiday season concludes, Rapid City officials are providing guidance for residents on how to properly dispose of Christmas trees, excess packaging, and non-working lights.
The Rapid City Solid Waste Division is offering advice to ensure holiday cleanup remains efficient while keeping prohibited materials out of the landfill and recycling streams.
With all the planning that goes into the holidays each year, it is easy to forget or neglect about all of the stuff that needs to be discarded afterwards, said Ria Hannon of the City’s Solid Waste Division. We want to provide some helpful hints – a few do’s and don’ts – for the holiday season when it comes to proper disposal of the Christmas tree, all the cardboard and wrapping paper.
Beginning Dec. 26, natural trees, wreaths, and garland can be taken to remote disposal sites. All decorations, ornaments, and tree stands must be removed, and items should not be placed in plastic bags. Yard waste is not permitted at these locations.
In 2024, the Solid Waste Division collected nearly 19 tons of greenery from the city’s remote sites and the Rapid City Landfill. Tree disposal will remain available through Jan. 31 at Floyd Fitzgerald Stadium and West Boulevard North.
Residents are reminded that wrapping paper, ribbons, bows, cellophane, and shiny or colored cardboard should be placed in regular trash containers rather than recycling bins.
Officials also warned against haystacking, which occurs when trash is piled high or overflows from containers. Residents should bag and tie all garbage. If containers are full, items should be held for the following week or taken directly to the landfill.
Cardboard requirements are specific this year in South Dakota. Cardboard cannot be placed inside recycling containers or left on the ground next to household bins. Drivers will not collect excess materials left outside of containers. Residents can drop off cardboard at the Fitzgerald Stadium and West Boulevard North remote sites or the landfill.
The annual Christmas Lights Recycling Program is also underway through Jan. 31. Over the past three seasons, the city has collected nearly 13 tons of non-working lights and extension cords.
Drop-off locations in Rapid City include:
- Ace Hardware (East St. Patrick Street, West Main Street, and West Boulevard)
- Boyd’s Drug Stores (Baken Park and East St. Patrick Street)
- Rapid City City Hall
- Rapid City Public Library
- Runnings
- Fleet Farm
- Solid Waste Administration Office at the Landfill
- RC Hardware
- Menards
It is important to set aside a few moments for planning on what should go in the trash, how much should go into the containers, and remember to use our remote sites for disposing of many items, Hannon said.
