NATCHEZ — With Dec. 31 only days away, it’s time to start preparing for New Year celebrations, which means taking down the decorations — including the tree.

Director of the Mississippi State University Extension Service David Carter said Christmas trees are drying out around this time of year, even if they’ve been well maintained.

“Despite the increasing use of artificial trees, there is still a massive amount of trees in the Miss-Lou that will be disposed of in the next week to 10 days,” Carter said.

With the trees drying out, residents have one of two options — to throw the trees away or recycle them.

If residents choose to throw them away, Public Works Supervisor Justin Dollar said trees 4 feet in length or less can be left out for curbside pick-up.

If anyone has a tree bigger than 4 feet, then one option is to cut it into two pieces and leave it for pick-up. Another option is to take the trees to a dumpster behind the Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center, which accepts trees of all sizes.

“Anybody within the city can dispose of their Christmas trees there,” Dollar said.

The city will have the dumpster out starting today and have it available to residents for at least a week.

But for residents who want to recycle their Christmas tree, they have a few different choices.

Carter said trees could be recycled as fish habitats. Once strung together and put into a pond or lake, the trees can provide a place for small fish to hide from bigger fish until they grow, Carter said.

Another two options are to reuse trees for campfires and mulch.

Natchez National Historic Park Superintendent Kathleen Bond said Melrose is accepting trees.

“It’s not really about saving us money, it’s about encouraging recycling in the community,” Bond said.

One of the principles and policies of the National Park Service is to encourage natural conservation, Bond said. The plan is to use donated trees for mulch and fish habitats.

The trees can be left at Melrose’s maintenance entrance by the railroad tracks. The gates are open from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., but trees can be left outside of the gates all day.