6 The Hampton Roads Messenger


Volume 13 Number 4


The Gift That Keeps on Giving – Your Naturally-grown Christmas Tree Is Recyclable


leader with askHRgreen.org. “Recycling your Christmas tree


keeps it out of the landfill and helps you give back to your community. Many localities collect and chip the trees into mulch or compost that is used to spruce up city and county parks, roadway plantings and median areas,” said Eastep.


26, residents throughout the Hampton


Roads area


Beginning on or around Dec. greater take


may


advantage of this seasonal recycling program. Trees should be free


of ASKHRGREEN.ORG


the holidays doesn’t mean the end of your holiday decorations.


Hampton Roads, Va. – The end of Naturally-


grown Christmas trees, fresh garland and other greenery can receive a second life when recycled or reused in your yard and garden. That’s a thoughtful way to extend the season of giving, according


to Rebekah Eastep, team


ornaments, tinsel or stands and placed at the curb on scheduled collection days or taken to a designated drop off location.


In addition to traditional


recycling, there are many creative ways to give O Tanenbaum a second life by reusing natural Christmas trees, boughs and garland in your yard. You can try:


• Placing the tree in the yard with citrus peels and strung popcorn for the birds


• Shredding pines needles for use on pathways and trails


• Draping boughs and branches over plant beds for winter protection


• Using the tree as a habitat for wintering


• Sinking


woodland creatures branches


birds and into


ornamental ponds to feed the fish


• Snipping small branches to Fraudulent Calls FROM PAGE 1


other legal action if you fail to provide information. In those cases, the call is fraudulent, and you should just hang up.


try anything to mislead and harm innocent


“Unfortunately, scammers will people,


them into thinking


including that


scaring something


is wrong with their Social Security account and they might be arrested,” Stone said. “I encourage everyone to remain watchful of these schemes and to alert family members and friends of their prevalence. We will continue to track these scams and warn citizens, so that they can stay several steps ahead of these thieves.”


The OIG recently warned that some of these impersonation calls have “spoofed” SSA’s national customer


service The Acting phone number,


displaying 1-800-772-1213 as the incoming number on caller ID.


Inspector General


urges citizens to be extremely cautious, and to avoid providing information such as your SSN or bank account numbers to unknown persons over the phone or internet unless you are certain of who is receiving it. If you receive a suspicious call from someone alleging to be from SSA, you should report that information to the OIG at 1-800-269-0271 or online at https://oig.ssa.gov/report.


January 2019 use as kindling in fire pits “Recycling and reusing your


holiday greenery is truly the gift that keeps on giving,” said Eastep.


As of this date, the following


cities and counties have announced their natural Christmas tree recycling/ pick-up schedules. Contact


your


locality or visit their website for updates. For additional information about all things green, go to http:// askhrgreen.org/2019-christmas-tree- schedule/


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