Once the carols have been sung around it and the gifts have been unwrapped beneath it, what becomes of the family Christmas tree? If it is one of the fortunate few, it lives on in a recycled afterlife.

Winston May of Mr. Whiskers at 381 John R. Junkin Drive said he sold every tree he got in at his business across from the Natchez Mall.

&uot;We went through a lot of them – I haven’t even counted them yet,&uot; he said. &uot;We never have enough.&uot;

May said many of the Christmas trees in Natchez have a date with a wood chipper after Christmas and are ground into mulch.

&uot;Or fishermen with ponds and lakes will sink them and give coverage for fish,&uot; he said.

The Christmas tree at May’s home went to a friend for use as a fish bed in a pond.

&uot;Some people I know just leave them in their yard for the birds. A Frazier Fir will hold up,&uot; he said. &uot;Birds will eat all year long off that tree.&uot;

The City of Natchez will provide curbside pick up for discarded Christmas trees for city residents, said Richard Burke, director of public works for Natchez.

&uot;In previous years, we set up a station to receive trees, but there were so few brought in,&uot; Burke said.

Last year, Burke experimented with having public works crews follow the garbage pick up routes and pick up trees from curbs.

&uot;I think we got just about every Christmas tree in Natchez,&uot; he said.

Burke said public works crews will grind the trees into mulch to be used around the city. Dick Thompson, owner of Live Oak Nursery at 169 Homochitto St., said his company will also recycle trees.

&uot;We have a new mulcher that we can run them through,&uot; he said. &uot;I’d say people should find a place where trees are deposited into a chipper or sink them for fish beds in a lake. They make nice rim beds.&uot;