Florida
South Florida residents encouraged to recycle Christmas trees
MIAMI – Now that Christmas has come and gone, many people are planning to keep their trees up through New Year’s Day and then take them down.
To dispose of trees, there is always curbside pickup. But Miami-Dade and Broward counties are encouraging residents to participate in their respective Christmas tree recycling programs.
In Miami-Dade, people can drop off clean, decoration-free trees at one of the below Trash and Recycling Centers, which are open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.:
North Dade
21500 NW 47 Avenue
Norwood
19901 NW 7th Avenue
Palm Springs North
7870 NW 178 Street
Golden Glades
140 NW 160 Street
West Little River
1830 NW 79 Street
Snapper Creek
2200 SW 117 Avenue
Sunset Kendall
8000 SW 107 Avenue
West Perrine
16651 SW 107 Avenue
Eureka Drive
9401 SW 184 Street
South Miami Heights
20800 SW 117 Court
Moody Drive
12970 SW 268 Street
Trees can also be dropped off at the Home Chemical Collection Center, 8801 NW 58 Street in West Miami-Dade. It’s open Wednesday to Sunday for tree drop-off only, from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
This service is for residents who receive waste collection services from Miami-Dade County only.
The trees will be turned into mulch which will be available beginning in spring 2025. Sign up to be notified when the mulch is ready. Residents are reminded to bring a shovel and bags or pails to take away the material.
Residents who are unable to drop off their Christmas tree can place it at the curbside. Crews will collect Christmas trees from the curbside beginning Wednesday, Jan. 8. This year trees will be collected throughout the service area during two sweeps. Do not place whole trees or cut-up trees in the green garbage carts or blue recycling carts.
First Christmas Tree Collection Sweep: Jan. 8 – 19
Trees will be collected on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays
Final Christmas Tree Collection Sweep: Jan. 22 – Feb. 2
Trees will be collected on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays
Trees placed at the curbside as part of a scheduled bulky waste pickup will not be recycled into mulch.
For more information, click here.
In Broward, you can recycle your three through the county’s annual Chip-a-Tree initiative. Every year Broward County Parks recycles thousands of trees, most of which probably would otherwise have gone to landfills. The trees will be chipped and used for landscaping throughout the county park system.
To recycle your tree, you can take it to one of the following locations before Jan. 20, no decorated trees will be accepted. There is a limit of two trees per vehicle, artificial trees are not accepted, and no commercial vehicles or garbage trucks are allowed.
(Hours vary, you are encouraged to call the park of your choice for details.)
Park locations are:
Brian Piccolo Sports Park & Velodrome
9501 Sheridan Street, Cooper City (954) 357-5150
C.B. Smith Park
900 N. Flamingo Road, Pembroke Pines (954) 357-5170
Easterlin Park
1000 NW 38 Street, Oakland Park (954) 357-5190
Fern Forest Nature Center
201 Lyons Road South, Coconut Creek (954) 357-5198
Markham Park and Target Range
16001 W State Road 84, Sunrise (954) 357-8868
Reverend Samuel Delevoe Memorial Park
2520 NW 6 Street, Fort Lauderdale (954) 357-8801
Snake Warrior’s Island Natural Area
3600 SW 62 Avenue, Miramar (954) 357-8776
Tradewinds Park and Stables
3600 W Sample Road, Coconut Creek (954) 357-8870
Tree Tops Park
3900 SW 100 Avenue, Davie (954) 357-5130
Topeekeegee (T.Y.) Park
3300 N Park Road, Hollywood (954) 357-8811
Vista View Park
4001 SW 142 Avenue, Davie (954) 357-8898
West Lake Park
1200 Sheridan Street, Hollywood (954) 357-5161
Curbside pick-up varies by city and contracted waste disposal company. Usually, they pick up in the first two weeks of January.
Plans for a new Wawa to open in Port St. Lucie were approved.
A new Wawa fuel station and convenience store will open in Port St. Lucie now that the plans have been approved.
The Wawa will be at the corner of Village Parkway and Becker Road in front of the Lowe’s which is expected to open in the summer of 2026, according to the city’s website.
The plans for a Wawa convenience store and eight fuel pumps were submitted to the city Dec. 3, 2025.
What will go in Port St. Lucie’s Southern Grove?
The plans for the Shoppes at Southern Grove show there will be a new Lowe’s store and six additional outparcels.
The six additional outparcels include the following:
- Gas station: 5,915 square feet
- Outparcel A: 1.2 acres
- Outparcel B: 1.14 acres
- Outparcel C: 1.83 acres
- Outparcel D: 1.04 acres
- Outparcel E: 1.02 acres
Olivia Franklin is TCPalm’s trending reporter. You can contact her at olivia.franklin@tcpalm.com, 317-627-8048 or follow her on X @Livvvvv_5.
SUNRISE, Fla. – Five Florida Panthers players and five staff members will represent their home countries at the upcoming 2026 IIHF World Championship, taking place May 15 through May 31 in Zurich and Fribourg, Switzerland. Games will be broadcast on NHL Network in the United States.
Marek Alscher, 22, will represent Czechia at the IIHF World Championship for the first time. He previously played for his home country at the 2024 IIHF U20 World Junior Championship, skating in seven games to help the Czechs capture the bronze medal over Finland. Alscher made his NHL debut with the Panthers in 2025-26, notching three assists over four games played. He also skated in 52 American Hockey League (AHL) games with Florida’s affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, recording 11 points (3-8-11).
Aleksander Barkov, 30, missed the 2026 Winter Olympic Games due to injury but had been named to Finland’s preliminary roster in June of 2025. He previously earned a bronze medal at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games alongside current Panthers assistant coach Tuomo Ruutu, and earned a silver medal representing his home country at the 2016 IIHF Men’s World Championship. At the 2025 NHL 4 Nations Face-Off, Barkov served as captain of Finland.
Anton Lundell, 24, will be participating in his second IIHF World Championship after earning a silver medal with Finland in 2021, where he posted seven points (4-3-7) in 10 games as a 19-year-old. He helped Finland capture the bronze medal at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games this season and previously earned gold at the 2019 IIHF U20 WJC and 2018 IIHF U18 WJC, as well as a bronze medal at the 2021 U20 WJC.
Sandis Vilmanis, 22, will represent Latvia at the IIHF World Championship for the first time in his career. He played for Latvia at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in February as well as at the 2022, 2023 and 2024 IIHF U20 World Junior Championships, serving as an alternate captain in 2024 where he produced four points (2-2-4) over five games. Vilmanis made his NHL debut with the Panthers in 2025-26, logging five points (3-2-5) in 19 games with Florida while compiling 38 points (17-21-38) in 48 American Hockey League (AHL) contests with the Panthers affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers.
Matthew Tkachuk, 28, will attempt to become the first American to join the Triple Gold Club (Stanley Cup, World Championship Gold Medal and Olympic Gold Medal), as well as the first player in NHL history to win all three parts of the Triple Gold Club within a 12-month span. This will be Tkachuk’s first time participating in the IIHF World Championship.
In addition to his 2026 Olympic gold medal, Tkachuk also earned gold representing the United States at the 2015 IIHF U18 World Junior Championship and the 2014 U17 World Hockey Challenge, as well as a bronze medal at the 2016 IIHF U20 WJC. He served as alternate captain for the U.S. at the 2026 Olympics and 2025 4 Nations Face-Off.
Florida will have four staff members representing the United States. Panthers Assistant General Manager Brett Peterson is serving as General Manager for the second time after holding the position in 2024. Panthers Head Equipment Manager Teddy Richards will serve as equipment manager and Florida’s Head Athletic Trainer Dave DiNapoli will work as athletic trainer. Panthers President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Bill Zito will serve on the Advisory Group.
Panthers Assistant General Manager Gregory Campbell will assist with evaluating and selecting players for Canada.
Panthers fans can stay up to date on all the Cats’ representatives at the 2026 IIHF World Championships at FloridaPanthers.com/WorldChampionship.
2026-27 Florida Panthers Territory Memberships are available now! Click here to learn more. For all the latest in Panthers news, concerts and events at Amerant Bank Arena & FTL War Memorial, sign up for ’93 Society newsletter and receive information straight to your inbox. Visit FloridaPanthers.com or SeatGeek.com for all ticketing needs.
A Martin County slaughterhouse near Lake Okeechobee could increase toxic algal blooms in the C-44 Canal, St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon.
There have been 81 algal blooms in the past two years within 2 miles of a proposed slaughterhouse in western Martin County, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection Algal Bloom Dashboard.
The slaughterhouse will increase pollution and bring more potentially toxic algal blooms to Lake Okeechobee, whose waters sometimes are released into the C-44 Canal and flow into the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon in Stuart, opponents say.
Chancey Bay Ranch owner Tuny Mizrachi has proposed building a 56,784-square-foot slaughterhouse on 26 acres of his 2,046-acre-property at 8401 SW Connors Highway, abutting Lake O.
5 ways a slaughterhouse can increase Lake Okeechobee pollution
The Guardians of Martin County have raised at least five concerns with the Martin County Commission:
- Meat processing facilities, though necessary, have the potential to be noisy nuisances and significant sources of disease and pollution for air and water.
- The facility would be a new source of pollution in a watershed that’s designated as “impaired” because of elevated concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus.
- The facility would be a potential new source of pollutants near one of Martin County’s lowest income and most ethnically diverse communities.
- There’s no evidence the facility has a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, or plans to follow effluent limitation guidelines or conduct water-quality monitoring.
- The South Florida Water Management District has permitted the facility to withdraw 6.7 million gallons of water per year for 20 years from Florida’s surficial aquifer, despite it being subject to varying levels of saltwater intrusion, especially in Martin County. The SFWMD has designated all of Martin County a Water Resource Caution Area.
Blood, feces, oil, grease, ammonia and antibiotic residue from the proposed slaughterhouse would contribute to harmful algal blooms, including toxic cyanobacteria, Martin County Administrator Don Donaldson wrote to the DEP and SFWMD.
Tim O’Hara is TCPalm’s environment reporter. Contact him at tim.ohara@tcpalm.com.
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