Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP) is asking people to say a green goodbye to their Christmas trees and other festive waste.
The best option is to compost it at home or turn it into a wildlife corner, though we appreciate that will not be possible for many people.
Garden Waste Service subscribers can leave their tree out with their next collection.
Trees will not be collected from the kerbside unless you subscribe to the Garden Waste Service.
If you are not subscriber, please take your tree to one of SWP’s 16 recycling sites and put in the garden waste skip.
The sites are open on their full winter schedule and are a good way to clear the decks of large loads of other festive recycling like paper gift wrap and cardboard.
For full details of site opening times visit www.somersetwaste.gov.uk/recycling-site-opening-hours/
Local organisations and groups may also be running tree collection or drop-off services, sometimes raising money for charity. Check local press and online for details.
However you recycle it, make sure your tree is completely decoration free before leaving it out or dropping it off.
SWP’s garden waste collections restart on Saturday 9 January when crews will be making the collections they would usually have made on Friday, 8 January. Normal garden waste collections resume from Monday 11 January.
Trees being collected from subscribers must be no taller than 6ft tall and have a trunk no wider than 4in in diameter. Anything bigger will need to go to recycling site because they will be too big for crews and trucks to cope with. Please aim to have your tree collected as soon as possible and certainly before the end of January.
Garden Waste Service collection days can be checked using the My Collection Day feature on the somersetwaste.gov.uk homepage.
A spokesperson for SWP said: “For the tens of thousands of people subscribed to our garden waste service, the answer is simple. If you’re not a subscriber, please think ahead and plan a trip to one of our recycling centres.
“If you think a friend or neighbour might struggle to take their own, you could offer to take theirs too if you have the space. A trip to the recycling centre is also a good way to get rid of other recycling such as cardboard and wrapping paper that may have built up over the festive period.”
Langford Lakes Christmas Tree Farm in Langford Budville is offering to take trees and shred them for mulch – but only if their farm near Wellington is closer than your nearest recycling centre.
An allocated drop-off area will be in place at the farm from 4-22 January, and visitors will also be able to pick up mulch created from previous year’s Christmas tree recycling for use on their own home gardens.
Nick Hendy from Langford Lakes said: “If it’s easier for people to bring them here because it’s closer, we’re happy to take them and recycle them. It’s all part of the way we want to be as sustainable as possible and minimise our impact on the environment.”
For more tips on how to reduce, reuse and recycle at this time of year visit www.somersetwaste.gov.uk/festive