City and county sanitation crews returned from the Christmas holiday this week to collect the byproducts of the season of giving.

Delwin Kilgo, city Sanitation Department superintendent, said additional trucks were put on trash pickup duty Tuesday to deal with the additional tonnage created by gift packaging and Christmas trees.

Crews collected from 3,000 homes Tuesday, double the workload of an ordinary day, he said.

“It was quite heavy this year,” Kilgo said. “People must’ve had a good Christmas. They got a lot of gifts.”

Teresa Givens with the county Sanitation Department said they also brought in extra trucks. Many trucks filled up before they finished their routes, she said.

While the county does not pick up Christmas trees, the city sanitation department does. Kilgo said his workers see fewer trees by the roadside than in past years.

“We don’t get too many anymore. More people are going to artificial trees,” he said.

Fishermen often pick up the real trees that are left by the curb to create habitats for fish, he said.

Kilgo said residents did a good job of obeying garbage pickup guidelines this year.

“Everything was in plastic bags, they followed the rules, which makes out job a lot easier on us, and we appreciate it,” he said.