Think Fargo, but without all the blood.
San Francisco officials brought a little piece of North Dakota to City Hall plaza on Tuesday for its Christmas “treecycling” event.
Enter the wood-chipping machine. To demonstrate what will happen to trees gathered from curbs starting Jan. 2, officials shaved about a dozen of them into wood bits, so they can be converted into energy. The wood chips are cooked to create steam that generates electricity.
“You can’t help in the holiday season but to think about that scene from Fargo, which is kind of terrifying. This is a little more tame, and it smells a lot better,” U.S. EPA regional administrator Jared Blumenfeld said at City Hall.
San Francisco’s Christmas tree recycling program is in its 25th year. Last year, the city collected 514 tons of wood chips.