Photos: Christmas trees transformed into trails

Updated: June 1, 2016 Published: January 8, 2015

1 of 8

Eric Hueners drops off a tree for recycling at the Jewel Lake Carrs Store in Anchorage on Wednesday, January 7, 2014. Tall Trees is partnering with ALPAR to recycle the trees and use the wood chips to maintain trails around the city. The Christmas tree recycling program ends January 15.

Ever wonder what happens to all of Anchorage's Christmas trees after the holidays are over?

Many undoubtedly end up in the trash, and some get burned. But many are now recycled, turned into chips and spread on local trails.

Tall Trees, a local tree service, is partnering with Alaskans for Litter Prevention and Recycling to chip trees left at collection spots across town.

On a recent Wednesday, two weeks after Christmas, dozens of trees were piled behind the Jewel Lake Carrs store. Less than a half hour later, arborists Grant Tibbetts and Geoffrey Gill had turned them all into wood chips destined for trails across town.