By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

For those who enjoy the beauty of a real tree at Christmas time, the days after the final festivities mean figuring out how to dispose of the dried-out tree.

Central Alabama Electric Cooperative, in partnership with the City of Clanton and Winn-Dixie, has a solution.

The partnership is collecting undecorated trees at the Winn-Dixie parking lot until Jan. 3.

An area on the parking lot is marked with a sign, and trees can be dropped off whether someone is standing by the sign or not. The area is located on the portion of the parking lot facing Ollie Avenue.

“This is the 25th year we have done this,” Tiffany Trueblood, CAEC communications specialist said.

Trees dropped off at the Winn-Dixie parking lot on Highway 31 in Clanton are turned into mulch by CAEC employees.

“We will have our employees chip those trees and clean up, then those chips are used for erosion control at our facilities,” Trueblood said.

Similar programs are available throughout the CAEC service area.

“It helps us out,” Trueblood said. “It helps the environment, and it helps our members safely dispose of their trees.”

The service is also helpful to the City of Clanton as a way of ensuring the trees are properly disposed of without having to dedicate employees to driving routes to pick up trees.

CAEC serves rural areas in 10 counties in Alabama, including Autauga, Elmore, Coosa and Chilton, Tallapoosa, Talladega, Bibb, Perry, Dallas and Lowndes.