Slough Borough Council’s recycling team is urging residents to make their first New Years resolution a green one – by recycling their real Christmas tree and cards.
The festive period uses eight million Christmas trees in the UK; that’s 12,000 tonnes of additional rubbish, nearly six times the weight of the London Eye.
Too many Christmas trees also end up in landfill, which is not only bad for the environment but costs residents a lot of money in disposal.
In Slough it’s easy for residents to recycle their real Christmas tree. All they need to do is call 0800 6346301 until 11th January to book a collection date. The tree can then be left (without decorations) at the edge of the property for collection on the booked day.
Residents can also take trees directly to Chalvey recycling centre or to Wexham plant nursery for recycling.
All collected Christmas trees will be chipped and recycled into compost. The compost created is then used on local farms and is sometimes brought back to Slough for use by local residents.
Sarah Bryan, community recycling officer, for Slough Borough Council, said: “There are three great reasons to recycle your Christmas tree this New Year. All trees are made into compost which minimises the need to use peat-based compost, saving our natural peat habitats.
“Additionally, if you recycle your tree it does not go into landfills which create methane gas, a cause of climate change. Controlled composting significantly reduces production of methane gas. Finally, composting green waste will cut landfill costs for Slough residents.”
Commissioner for public protection, Cllr John Edwards, added: “As we run out of space in landfill it is becoming increasingly undesirable and expensive for all of us to throw away anything that can be recycled.
“Having your tree collected to be made into compost helps the environment that we live in and means it can be reused well into the New Year.”
Don’t forget to recycle your Christmas cards too. They can be placed into your black recycling box to be collected along with your glass, cardboard and tin. Alternatively, recycle your cards at WHSmith, Tesco, TK Maxx and Marks and Spencer in the special recycling bins in store throughout January. Recycling your cards through this scheme helps the Woodland Trust to fund the planting of trees in the UK. Last year over 22,000 trees were planted as a result of recycled cards.
Slough Borough Council
