With the holidays over and the New Year beginning, it is time to retire those Christmas trees until the next holiday season. Here is why you should properly dispose of your real Christmas trees and how you can go about that.

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) around 36% of all Christmas tree fires happen in January. That is due to the tree setting all that time and drying up.

State Fire Marshall Kevin Reardon commented on the danger of dried-out trees saying "Dried-out trees present a real fire danger because they burn fast and hot, which means if they catch fire, they will likely ignite anything and everything around them."

Both the NFPA and Fire Marshall stress the importance of getting rid of your live Christmas tree.

Those in the Valley have many ways to responsibly dispose of their live Christmas trees.

Express Junk Removal in Youngstown, Bob's Tree Service in Warren and The City of Warren Environmental Services Department all provide drop-off and/or pickup of trees throughout January.

To find more information on those services you can visit our story from last December here.

For residents of Hermitage there will be curbside collection of natural Christmas trees during the weeks of January 6 and January 13.

Those wanting to partake must take all decorations off the tree and trim it down to size (six feet long, four feet wide at the most) before putting your tree up for collection.

The Ohio Department of Wildlife also takes donations of Christmas trees in the use of making habitats for wildlife.

The live-cut trees can serve many purposes to wildlife, such as cover for fish at the bottom of a lake or pond.

They can also be used as the centerpiece of brush piles which small animals find shelter in whilst they raise their young. Birds use the brush piles to find food, nesting materials and a way to escape.

Those in the Valley who want to donate their Christmas tree to be used to create habitats can do so by visiting these drop-off locations Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until January 31.

Austintown Twp. - Austintown Township Park, 6000 Kirk Rd.

Beloit Village - Village Park, 17910 E. 5th St.

Berlin Twp. - Berlin Township Bldg., 15823 W. Akron-Canfield Rd.

Campbell City - Salt Dome, Warhurst Rd.

Canfield Township - Fire Station, 5007 Messerly Rd.

Craig Beach / Milton Twp. - Next to Fire Station, 1979 Grandview Rd.

Ellsworth Twp. - Fire Station, 6036 S. Salem-Warren Rd.

Goshen Twp. - Maintenance Garage, 12649 Seacrist Rd.

Green Twp. - Cemetery at SR 165 & Beaver Creek Rd.

Jackson Twp.- Township Bldg., 10613 Mahoning Ave.

Lowellville Village - Street Dept., 3 W. McGaney.

New Middletown / Springfield - Recycling Center, 10720 Struthers Rd. Poland Twp. - Poland Township Park, 7400 Moore Rd. Struthers City - Trees will be picked up at the curb. Youngstown - CCA (former South Branch Library), 1771 Market St