Monday, January 10: Mahogany Builders & City of Chicago Recycles Christmas Trees at Wrigley Field

Jan. 6, 2011 - PRLog -- CHICAGO, IL (January 10, 2010) –On Monday January 10th, Mahogany Builders, a Wrigleyville based remodeling firm, will scour the alleys and curbsides of Lakeview to pick up discarded Christmas trees and deliver them to the Gold Wrigley Field parking lot for recycling into mulch at 2 pm.  :For its third annual Christmas Tree Recycle, Matt Lederer, owner of Mahogany Builders, has collaborated with Alderman Tunney (44th Ward), The Mulch Center  This year the City of Chicago’s Greencorps.

100 percent of the Christmas trees collected on Monday, January 10th will be turned into useable organic mulch.  Lakeview and Wrigleyville residents can drop off their Christmas Trees at Wrigley Field’s GOLD parking lot, located on Waveland and Clifton starting Sunday afternoon January 9th through 2 pm January 10th.

Matt Lederer, of Mahogany Builders  said “For years I would just grab as many trees as possible when I went to recycle my own tree.  Finally, three years ago, I decided to get organized and make a larger impact on the neighborhood.”   Last year Mahogany Builders ran into Alderman Tunney while making their “tree runs” along their amorphous route.  

“This year we have a map and a plan.  We will be working in conjunction with Alderman Tunney’s office and the city’s Greencorps has donated a truck and some additional man power,” Matt said.  “Mahogany Builders, http://www.mahoganybuilders.com, is grateful of to the Chicago Cubs, for their donation of the Gold parking lot next to the stadium.  This is growing every year and really goes to show you how great this city is.  People have been incredibly responsive.”  

The City of Chicago has created 23 tree recycling drop off points throughout Chicago which is a tremendous help to recycling efforts.  However, there is no location directly within Wrigleyville or Lakeview. Subzero temperatures and busy schedules may veer well intentioned Chicagoans away from making the time to recycle their tree. Matt Lederer said, “The follow through rate on tree recycling ambitions tend to be low, despite our best intentions.”  Mahogany Builders has the means to help out and lighten the load a bit, for Chicago residents and the city.  

"We hope to inspire our community to start the New Year off doing something positive for environment and the City," said Alderman Tom Tunney, http://www.44thward.org/.  "Thank you to Mahogany Builders, The Chicago Cubs and the Mulch Center for providing a close location for our neighbors to recycle their Christmas trees."  The City of Chicago’s Greencorps, http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/doe/provdrs/na..., with the help of Kimberly Worthington, deputy commissioner of Urban Management the Department of Environment for the City of Chicago, any excess trees from the event will be delivered to various city recycling depot points.  

Each year, Americans dispose of an estimated 30-35 million Christmas trees.  Discarded trees end up in landfills or incinerators, one of the top generators of air pollution in the country.   Trees take up a huge amount of space in landfills.  Incinerators are one of the top generators of air pollution in the country.   Recycling trees for organic mulch is a great way of putting something back into the earth that was originally taken out.  

Jim Seckelmann, owner of the Mulch Center, http://mulchcenter.com/,  has volunteered a large tree mulching truck to drive up to Wrigleyville from Deerfield Illinois at 2 pm on Monday the 10th.  Seckelmann, a tree and fauna expert said, “The donation of the Christmas trees will be 100% recycled by The Mulch Center in Deerfield, Illinois.  The mulch created from Christmas trees has a beneficial ph content which is vital to the health and growth of evergreens, rhododendrons and azaleas.”

The Mulch Center, mulchcenter.com, and Mahogany Builders advocate the top 5 reasons mulch is smart way to “Go Green” in 2011.

1)   Mulch Reduces Waste: In utilizing wood waste, mulch eliminates dumping unnecessarily in our already overcrowded landfills.

2)   Mulch Preserves Water: Mulch naturally maintains soil moisture – reduces the amount of water we use to water trees and plants.  Mulch slows down the growth of weeds.

3)    Mulch Filters: Mulch naturally reduces the growth of weeds and inhibits certain plant diseases, instead of using harsh chemicals for weed and disease control.  Mulch produced from trees is organic. This particular kind of mulch will eventually decompose and add organic matter to the soil providing essential nutrients.

4)   Mulch is Nature’s Blanket: Serves as natures insulating blanket by keeping soil protected from the extreme weather condition we have. Mulch protects plants from freezes and also keeps soil cool from the heat of summer.

5)   Mulch Helps Wildlife:  Mulch can be used in animal stalls, provide sand and erosion barriers on beaches and provides shelter for fish, birds and other animals.

Mahogany Builders:

Matt Lederer, owner of Mahogany Builders, has been remodeling homes in the Chicago area for the past 8 years.  Lederer switched careers from a corporate project manager after buying his first home.  He carried over his skill of keeping meticulous records and updates and uses it for both client reports and with his staff.  He takes pride in the fact that his projects will not only be done well, but that they will also be done on time. An established contractor and businessman, Matt has a team of skilled tradesmen, a dedicated construction manager, a project manager, and in house designer on every project. He loves what he does and it shows, both in the final product, and also in the way he works with his clients and his staff. To view an image gallery of Mahogany Builder’s work visit ChicagoBuild.Shutterfly.com

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Mahogany Builders specializes in kitchens, bathrooms, custom cabinetry, shelving and storage units, fireplaces, and GREEN upgrades. Owner Matt Lederer employs management techniques and methodology from his corporate background in project management.