What do we do with our Christmas tree?

Rother District Council has issued advice to householders for the disposal of now redundant Christmas trees:

• If it’s a real tree it can be composted. Rother garden waste customers can place trees into their brown bin for collection. Please remember to cut it up first, it must be contained within your brown bin so it will need chopping up. Don’t leave trees whole next to your brown bin, they won’t be collected.
• Health and safety does not allow operatives to pick up and throw trees directly into the back of the vehicle, they could get stuck in the lifting equipment or bounce out and land on an unfortunate operative.
• If you are not a Rother garden waste customer you can compost your own tree if you have a compost heap or alternatively take it to your local tip.
• If it is an artificial tree and in a suitable condition you can give it away or sell second hand otherwise its got to go to the tip for disposal.

East Sussex County Council adds further advice on its website:

If you still opt for the real deal when it comes to Christmas trees, they can be recycled and turned into chippings for parks. You can find drop off points locally or, if chopped up into manageable pieces, you can recycle them via kerbside garden waste schemes. Alternatively, you can take them to your tip (household waste recycling centre). Or, if you have the outside space and your tree has survived the central heating, you can try replanting your tree and using it again next year!

Yet another suggestion comes from Hastings Borough Council:

When the festivities are over and it’s time to take down your Christmas tree, you can recycle it for free. Take your tree to Harmers Lane, Alexandra Park, between 8:30am and 4pm from now until 17 January. Councillor Maya Evans, lead councillor for environment, said: “We have offered this free recycling service to residents for several years. We turn the trees into healthy, compostable material that can be used in the park, and it helps keep own town tidy too. Please make sure all decorations are removed before trees are left.”

The owner of the tree in our picture had obviously made an early decision. On the eighth day of Christmas, the tree appeared to have already dried out and be shedding its needles, so it had to be taken out of the house.

Image Credits: Kenneth Bird .