Every holiday season households around Wellesley drag a live tree into their homes and treat it like royalty. The tree—usually a fragrant balsam fir—gets prime family room real estate, is glammed up in twinkle lights and shiny baubles, and admired. This honeymoon period lasts for about three weeks. After that, a certain family member starts giving the tree side-eye, commenting (or muttering… complaining styles var.) about pine needles in the carpet, and fire hazards. The tree must go.

You could load the tree into your vehicle, drive to the Recycling and Disposal Facility (RDF), and add it to the sad-looking pile of once-mighty conifers, all at no charge to Wellesley residents. Or you could get rid of the problem the easy way. By throwing money at it.

There are a couple of young, hardworking Wellesley entrepreneurs we know of who can pick up your tree for a small fee, leaving your car free of pine needles, and saving you that awkward goodbye to a once-valued holiday symbol.

Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap

Hardworking Wellesley resident and Clemson University landscape architect major Patrick Dublin can haul away your tree for a fee of $20. In honor of his grandmothers, Dublin donates 10% of his earnings to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He drops non big store trees at Unity Farm in Sherborn, and the rest go to the RDF.

To get your Christmas tree picked up, email him at dublinp19@gmail.com or use the sign-up genius.

Dublin is also happy to do dump runs and other jobs, so don’t be shy about asking for his assistance.

Also, Jack Kenney is in the tree removal business. The University of Vermont student said in an email he has upgraded the business and, in addition to dropping trees off at the RDF, has ” partnered with some local farms (like Natick Community Organic Farm and Happy Goats Farm) to feed the xmas trees to the farm animals.” You can schedule a pickup here.

Ryan LeBrun, too, can take away your tree. He tells us, “My family owns The Linden Store and the quality of my work is impeccable. I also offer to remove your tree from your home and take it off the stand. I am very passionate about NOAA Fisheries Bluefin Tuna Research and plan to donate a percentage of my proceeds to help further the grow and research. My fee is $25 for removal.”

You can reach Ryan at 781-540-4099

Are you a hardworking tree-removal entrepreneur? Email us at theswellesleyreport@gmail.com and we’ll add you to this post.

Fair fir trade

To streamline the process for those in the tree disposal business, the Wellesley Department of Public Works has created a Christmas tree collection pilot program. DPW director Dave Cohen during the Dec. 13 Board of Public Works meeting explained that this year those who want to collect trees and bring them to the RDF as part of a business must apply for a permit and pay by the number of trees they drop off. The rate is approximately $1 per tree. (You can see the tree talk here at about 3 minutes into the Wellesley Media recording of meeting.)

In the past, tree-disposal entrepreneurs had to pay the minimum fee of $30 whenever they did a dump run, which added up pretty quickly for someone making multiple trips to the RDF. Such a system favored the business with the biggest trucks, so paying just once for the season has the advantage of somewhat leveling the playing field.

Want to get in on the action? Stop by the RDF office to pick up an application.

How not to get rid of your tree

Disposed Christmas tree — There’s a right way and a wrong way to dispose of Christmas trees. Here’s the wrong way.

Here’s how our swell family has gotten rid of our trees, and it’s all on the up-and-up:

It’s easy to get an Open Air Burning Permit in Wellesley. The season runs January 15 to May 1, and you just have to follow a few common-sense rules. The Wellesley Fire Department requires that a garden hose be available at the site of the burning. Nobody wants to see the peony beds go up in flames accidentally, or worse yet, the woods. Get your burn permit online.

Wellesley RDF holiday hours

Friday 12/30/22 – RDF Open 7am – 3:45pm
Saturday 12/31/22 – RDF to close at 12 noon (open hours 7am-12 noon)
Sunday 1/1/23 – RDF CLOSED
Monday 1/2/23 – RDF CLOSED