City of Santee
Recycling News
Keep Holiday Tanglers Out of Your Recycling
String-like items such holiday lights, ribbons, bows, and tinsel are considered “tanglers” and can end up wrapped or tangled in heavy machinery during the recycling process. These items should not be placed in your recycling cart. Instead, place these items in your trash cart.
Holiday Recycling
and recycled 50% of the materials! Our next cleanup will be in April 2026!
City of Santee Special Events
Holiday Lighting
Date: Friday, November 21, 2025
Time: 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Location: Santee Trolley Square
Selfies with Santa
Date: Wednesday, December 3, 2025
Time: 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Location: Santee Trolley Square
Trail Mixer - Walker Preserve
Date: Saturday, January 10
Time: 10 a.m to Noon
Location: Santee Historical Society
SanTREE Day
Date: January 24, 2026
Time: 9 to 10 a.m.
Location: Town Center Community Park East
Fido Fest
Date: February 28, 2026
Time: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Location: Town Center Community Park East
The holiday season is here, and with it comes the fun of gifts and entertaining, plus a lot more trash. Americans generate an additional 1 million tons per week over the holidays – according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It is recommended to reuse wrapping paper, cardboard from gift boxes, and glass or plastic containers from holiday parties.
The following items should be disposed of in your trash cart:
• Any gift wrap with glitter
• Broken ornaments
• Bubble wrap
• Christmas lights
• Foam packing inserts
• Foil or cellophane wrap
• Packing peanuts
• Plastic gift cards
• Ribbons and bows
• Wreaths, garland
Here are other ways you can ensure you are recycling right throughout the season:
• Bring your own reusable shopping bag when holiday shopping.
• Shop sustain-ably and buy wrapping paper or other items that are made with recycled materials.
• Recycle after holiday use.
Live Holiday Tree Recycling
Live holiday trees will be picked up for recycling beginning December 26, 2025 - January 9, 2026. Residents with curbside collection can recycle their Christmas trees by placing them in their green waste carts on their regular collection day.
• Trees must be cut into maximum four (4) foot long sections and must fi t completely inside the green waste cart.
• Ornaments, lights, tinsel and tree stands must be removed.
• Flocked trees cannot be recycled, but will be collected if cut into four (4) foot long sections and placed inside the trash cart.
Santee residents without curbside collection can drop off trees through January 9, 2025, at the WM Recycle Center located at 925 O’Connor Street, El Cajon. Hours 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday-Friday and 7 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.
Keep Batteries Out of Your Cart
Everyday household items such as batteries can inadvertently cause a fire when they come in contact with other materials in a cart or when compacted inside a collection truck. Help prevent trash-related fires this holiday season and keep your community safe by properly disposing of old batteries:
• Tape the ends of your batteries so the poles are not exposed. Place the batteries in a zip-top plastic bag.
• Put the bag on top of (not inside) your recycling cart on your collection day.
Reduce Thanksgiving Food Waste
Remember, all of those food scraps from your Thanksgiving meal prep can be recycled in your green organics cart! You can also help fight hunger in our community by donating fresh fruits and vegetables, or canned items, to the Santee Food Bank.
Holiday Schedule
WM observes the following holidays:
New Year’s Day | Memorial Day | Independence Day
Labor Day | Thanksgiving Day | Christmas Day
If a holiday falls on a weekday, collections will be pushed back a day. For example, for a Thursday holiday, service would be on Friday, and Friday service would be Saturday. No delays if a holiday falls on Saturday or Sunday.
Santee City Hall will be closed for the holidays from December 24, 2025 through January 2, 2026
Connect with WM
Visit Your Local Website: Visit your dedicated local website at home.wm.com/santee for up-to-date service information and to connect with WM Support.
Create Your My WM Account: A My WM account makes it easy to manage your service, pay your bills, set up autopay and paperless billing, view your service and holiday schedule, request services and much more. Visit wm.com/MyWM to get started.
Let’s Chat: Visit wm.com/support to chat with our virtual assistant or use the chat icon at the bottom right corner of the page to live chat with a customer service representative.