Curbside Christmas tree pickup in San Francisco scheduled for January By Kathleen Kirkwood FILE - San Francisco will offer curbside Christmas tree pickup in early January. SAN FRANCISCO - City officials on Saturday reminded residents that San Francisco's curbside pickup of holiday trees will take place in early January. Last year, the city chipped more than 500 tons of Christmas trees into mulch. "Not only does this ensure that discarded holiday trees will be put to good use as earth-friendly mulch, but disposing of them properly also helps keep our neighborhoods clean and safe and reduces fire hazards," said Acting Public Works Director Alaric Degrafinried.