As part of

the statewide effort to reuse Christmas trees, Georgia

Power is once again partnering with Keep Georgia

Beautiful, The Home Depot, The Davey Tree Expert Company,

Georgia-Pacific, WXIA-TV and local sponsors to provide

convenient sites for area residents to drop off their

trees.

The year

2000 marks the ninth anniversary of "Bring One for

the Chipper," which has collected 2.5 million trees

and provided one million tree seedlings to participants

during its previous eight years. Last year 327,578 trees

were collected.

"This

annual event diverts more than 300,000 Christmas trees

annually from landfills throughout the state and

reinforces the steps we need to take to keep all yard

waste from being disposed in landfills," said

Heather Leo, Keep Georgia Beautiful's program

coordinator. "This is one simple way to reduce the

amount of waste entering landfills."

One often

overlooked benefit of recycling the trees is the

opportunity to receive free mulch for landscaping. The

Davey Tree Expert Company provides chipping equipment at

several locations around the state and will be mulching

the trees as they come in Jan. 8.

In addition

to landscaping, the mulch is great for children's play

areas. Churches, day care centers and schools are

encouraged to use the mulch from the chipper program for

their playgrounds. Interested parties should phone Chris

Helm at Davey Tree, 770-451-7911, for information about

the availability of mulch.

This will

be the fourth year that Georgia Power fish biologist

Scott Hendricks has used trees to create fish habitats in

Lake Burton. Last year, Georgia Power and Department of

Human Resources employees placed about 600 trees in the

lake.

Hendricks

will partner with the DNR in late January and is hoping

to use about 1,000 trees this year. He is also working

with a youth bass fishing club to place about 250 trees

in Lake Jackson. Placing the trees in the lake enhances

the entire ecosystem.

"The

trees provide a place for micro-organisms to grow, which

attract the young or small fish," said Hendricks.

"In turn, the small fish attract the larger bass and

crappie who are looking for an easy meal. Where the large

fish gather is where you will find the anglers."

For a

complete listing of Christmas tree collection sites,

check out the "Bring One for the Chipper" web

site at www.KeepGeorgiaBeautiful.org .