PLYMOUTH, Mass. -- It's the time of the year when millions of Christmas trees end up in landfills. But one South Shore business is giving the trees a new purpose by recycling them.

NewsCenter 5's David Brown reported that once cherished Christmas trees are being recycled into organic compost and mulch at Balboni Reprocessing in Plymouth.

"It comes here after life, and we recycle it into useful ground covers. It goes back into gardens, nature trails, jogging trails, people's yards, flower gardens and what have you," said Debra Balboni.

For 11 years Plymouth's Balboni Reprocessing has been recycling Christmas trees. They stack them, grind them and mix them with yard waste. Inside the piles, temperatures reach well over 100 degrees as microbes turn the wood and yard waste into fine organic compost and mulch.

"It's speeding up nature's process. If this material was left out on the forest floor, it would basically do the same thing but just take a little longer," said Joe Balboni.

Once the trees are dropped off, they are chopped up and turned into huge piles of wood chips. In about a year, the wood chips are turned into compost and mulch, ready to go back into people's yards.

Everyone who brings in a Christmas tree for recycling gets a coupon for mulch or topsoil. For homeowners, landscapers and the town of Plymouth, a dead tree has new life as organic material.

"It's absolutely a win-win for the town because we are a community of 50,000 people, so you can imagine how many trees we generate," said Plymouth Selectman Ken Tavares.

"What better way to produce a product that is strictly a waste product," said landscaper Craig Wooster.