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OTTUMWA, IOWA -- With the holidays coming to an end, many residents in Ottumwa are going to be taking down their decorations, and that includes Christmas Trees.

In Ottumwa, the city is reminding residents to put your trees out on the curb for collection on Thursday, January 3rd.

"All we ask is that if you put your Christmas Tree on the curb for collection, make sure you remove the ornaments. Also, don't leave it in a plastic bag, because most of us will put it in a plastic bag and carry it out of the house; but once you get to the curb, take the bag off and put the bag in the trash because these trees are going to the compost area at the landfill and we can't compost bags," said Jody Gates with the City of Ottumwa.

Gates says that if you have an artificial tree that needs to be disposed of, contact Bridge City Sanitation and place your home on the bulk-item collection list.

Also, the Ottumwa Fire Department is warning residents to take their trees down quickly. After a period of time, Christmas Trees become a fire hazard and can cause major damage to your house if they catch on fire.

"The needles are like really, really fine tinder; so it is like wading up a piece of paper that has been dried, they just go up in flames real fast and they put off a lot of high heat. You know, you take a normal house that has furniture, and that is usually where the Christmas Tree is, that temperature in that room climbs so rapidly because of the heat from that tree," said Captain Brian Carnahan with the Ottumwa Fire Department.

If you need to contact Bridge City Sanitation, the phone number is 641-682-1700.