People living in north Oxfordshire can get a helping hand with their festive clear-up by having their real Christmas trees collected for composting.
Published: Tuesday, 2nd January 2024
From Tuesday, 9 January, Cherwell District Council’s waste and recycling crews will collect trees left next to blue recycling bins at the kerbside on collection day. The trees will be taken to a special composting site at Ardley, where they’ll be composted at high temperatures before being redistributed to farmers as compost.
Councillor Andrew McHugh, Portfolio Holder for Cleaner and Greener Communities, said: “Real Christmas trees are the centrepiece of so many households’ festive decorations. As the decorations come down and we welcome the new year, it’s the perfect time to give that real Christmas tree a new lease of life as compost.
“If anyone’s tree lights have broken over Christmas, we’ll recycle those too. People just need to put them out in a carrier bag, and our crews will do the rest. It’s all part of reducing the environmental impact of Christmas and starting the new year sustainably.
“I’d like to thank our bin crews who have been working over Christmas and dealing with bins that are around 25 per cent heavier at this time of year. Our residents do a great job correctly sorting out their waste and recycling – let’s keep up the great work in 2024.”
To ensure safe loading and collection, any tree over five feet tall must be cut in half. The pieces of the Christmas tree can then be left next to the blue recycling bin on collection day from 9 January to 19 January inclusive. A garden waste subscription is not needed for trees to be collected.
To get their trees ready for composting, residents should remove all decorations before placing them out for collection. The crews can take away broken fairy lights and other small electrical items if placed in a standard-size carrier bag and left on top of any bin on collection day.
Alternatively, residents with real Christmas trees still potted with roots are encouraged to care for them in their gardens until next year.