Christmas trees must be cut before being put in green bin

Question: Do you really have to get all the tinsel off your Christmas tree if you want to put it in the green bin?

Q: Can I leave the whole tree at the curb for pickup?

Answer: Yes to the first question and no to the second.

Old Christmas trees being collected must be cut up into lengths of up to 3 feet, whether they are placed into a bin on one of Oahu’s automated three-cart collection routes or left on the curb on a manual route, according to the city’s Department of Environmental Services. The specifics vary a bit, so here are the details:

>> For households on automated three-cart routes: To be treated as green waste, the Christmas tree must be free of all decorations, including tinsel, and fit inside the green cart. Cut the tree into lengths of up to 3 feet so that the pieces fit in the cart with the lid closed and will fall freely when the cart is collected. Trees with flocking or any other decoration must not go in the green cart; they should be cut up, bagged and disposed of in the gray cart with the regular rubbish.

>> For households on manual curbside collection routes: Remove all decorations, cut the tree into lengths up to 3 feet, bundle and place at the curb on your usual garbage collection day.

>> Don’t leave trees out for bulky pickup; they will not be collected.

In addition:

>> Households that don’t want to cut up their trees can dispose of them whole at the nearest Refuse Convenience Center or at the Kapaa Transfer Station in Kailua. Find the full list of locations at 808ne.ws/convcent.

>> As long as a Christmas tree has no flocking, tinsel or other decorations, residents may drop it off (for free) at Hawaiian Earth Recycling, a composting facility in Wahiawa, at 65-1101 Wilikina Drive. It is less than a mile from the city’s Wahiawa Refuse Convenience Center, which no longer accepts green waste, and hasn’t since the composting facility opened.

>> Condominiums and commercial buildings can deliver large loads of Christmas trees (with no flocking, tinsel or other decorations) to the composting facility and pay no tipping fee, courtesy of the city. Association or building managers must call a city recycling specialist at 768-3200 ahead of time to arrange delivery to Hawaiian Earth Recycling, said Markus Owens, a spokesman for the city Department of Environmental Services.

Q: Does claiming a child tax credit slow down your tax refund?

A: Yes, assuming that you are talking about federal income tax returns. A law that took effect last year mandates that the Internal Revenue Service not issue refunds before mid-February for tax returns that claim the Earned Income Tax Credit or Additional Child Tax Credit. The delay applies to the whole refund, not just the portion derived from the EITC or ACTC, according to an IRS news release. This mandate is intended to give the IRS more time to detect fraudulent claims.

The agency warns taxpayers who claim those credits not to expect refunds via direct deposit or debit card until the end of February, no matter how early they file their taxes. The additional lag (past mid-February) will occur because banks need time to process the deposits, as well as other factors, the agency said.

Mahalo

A belated thank you to the kind person who found my remote car key at the Kamehameha Shopping Center and gave it to the security office. I went back to all the stores I shopped at when I discovered my key was missing. Luckily I found one of the security officers in the parking lot since the office was closed. I was so happy my husband didn’t need to go home from work to pick up the spare key! May that finder be blessed tenfold! — Joyce

Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.