The council is again offering a free real Christmas tree recycling service in the New Year.

The trees will all be shredded and composted – an estimated 90,000-100,000 trees will be recycled and turned into compost.

The council will be aiming to collect all unwanted trees on scheduled refuse and recycling collection days between and including Monday January 4th and Friday January 15th.

Putting your Christmas tree out for collection

• Residents with front gardens should place trees for collection alongside their rubbish and recycling sacks on their usual bin day - not on the street.

• Those without front gardens can place them on the pavement directly in front of their home but only if it does not cause an obstruction.

• These trees should not be left out for collection any earlier than 6.30pm on the day before the collection is due.

• Residents who live in blocks of flats should leave their trees near to their refuse bin store, making sure they do not block access.

• Residents are being strongly urged not to abuse this free service by placing trees on the street (except as above) or where they will cause an obstruction on the street. This is unnecessary as they will be collected free of charge.

If trees are dumped on the street blocking pavements or parking spaces, the pick-up crews have to be diverted away from their scheduled collections to deal with this problem, causing delays and inconvenience.

Different collection lorry

Residents should be aware that it won't be the same lorry that does the normal waste and recycling collection so please don't worry if your bins are emptied and your recycling sacks taken away before your tree is collected.

People should make sure that all decorations, pots and stands have been removed and are being reminded that this free service applies only to real trees not artificial ones.

Over the course of the fortnight the council's refuse and recycling service expect to pick up somewhere in the region of 90,000-100,000 trees.

Cllr Steffi Sutters Cabinet Member for Community Services and Open Spaces said:

"This has been a difficult year for everyone, so I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone for pulling together, especially all the unsung heroes, like our bin men and women who kept the borough moving during the pandemic.

"And thank you to all of our residents for doing their bit too and continuing to recycle during 2020, as well as all the wonderful messages of support you've been giving our waste crews throughout the year.

"Over Christmas our message is simple. Please take full advantage of our free recycling services and let us collect your Christmas tree – to turn into compost - along with your binbags and recycling sacks."

You can view the announced dates for Waste and Recycling collection over Christmas and New year here.

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