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Christmas tree
There are plenty of ways you can make use of or recycle your tree after Christmas.
  • The satisfaction of knowing you have avoided sending your Christmas tree to landfill
  • You may be able to add to the natural cycle, if you Christmas tree is recycled for its materials
  • The end of Christmas can be as much a ritual as preparing for it. Now, we can look ahead and think about what comes next in our homes and gardens

Christmas and the celebration of the New Year is over. Now is the time for eating the last of the chocolates and watching that film you promised yourself you would.

It's also a time to start thinking about taking down the decorations and deciding what to do with the Christmas tree. Here, we look at some of the more environmentally friendly options.

1. Plant it

You may have a pot grown Christmas trees with roots. If so, you can take it into the garden and plant it. Or, keep it in its pot to be reused next year.

Read these tips on how to plant out a real Christmas tree from Thrive Ambassador David Domoney.

2. Use your Local council collection

Check if your local council offer a tree collection. Many take Christmas trees away to be shredded and used on paths or as compostable material.

If they don't, you might be able to take it yourself to your local recycling centre to be shredded and recycled there.

3. Recycle it for charity

A number of charities, such as hospices, offer a 'treecycling' scheme. You can book for them to collect your tree, in return for a small donation to the charity.

You can find your local participating charity via JustHelping.

4. Mulch it

Chop your tree’s branches into small pieces and you will get material that can be used as a mulch. Mulching around shrubs, trees and plants protects the soil from rain erosion and frost damage. Also, while needles are a pain on your carpet, they can be just the job when scattered around plants that thrive in acidic conditions.

5. Create a wildlife log pile

Cutting your tree up and piling up the trunk pieces will create an environment that insects and wildlife will soon call home.

Did you know?

Sending 8 million Christmas trees to landfill costs around £22 million according to the UK Government. So, avoiding sending our trees to landfill helps the environment and saves money!

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