Recycling your Christmas Tree

While it is not time to recycle your Christmas tree yet, I have come across a number of articles concerning the subject. There is a surprising amount of articles that recommend putting the old, tinsel free, trees out by the curb for municipal pickup. I find this extremely distressing as 1.) you are relying on a government entity to do a service work for you- remember, we are trying to be sustainable, minimizing "outside" services 2.) takes your tax dollars which could be appropriated somewhere else a bit wiser and more efficient 3.) it takes an incredible amount of energy to fuel the truck to and from your neighborhood and to the composting center or dump (yes some municipalities dump the trees).
A great alternative is to 1.) if you live on a lake, submerge it to create fish habitat (makes for great fishing later) 2.) get out in your yard and get some exercise and chop that bad boy up and use it for mulch and or compost. 3.) have a neighborhood winnie roast 4.) Make something out

of it- a bow as I will be doing, or a lamp spine, a walking stick, vegetable plant stakes......