NEWBURY — Town Conservation Agent Doug Packer has a request for any Plum Island residents planning to discard their old Christmas trees on the beach: Please don't do that.
Christmas trees are fairly efficient at trapping sand, a commodity Plum Island beach can certainly use more of.
But Packer said the evergreens can also be subject to the whims of the wind or surf and could damage the network of sandbags guarding the dune for a 500-foot strip northward from Plum Island Center.
"We're trying to keep wood off the beach," he said.
Town residents can bring their Christmas trees to the Boston Road transfer station for disposal.
Board of Health Chairwoman Alba Gouldthorpe said an area at the transfer station has been set aside for Newbury trees, which can be dropped off during regular hours of operation.
The transfer station is open Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
She said she wasn't certain how long the drop-off program would continue.
