Eco-friendly ways to dispose of a real Christmas tree
A real Christmas tree is always a winner at this time of year, with its all-natural beauty and piney scent adding to the festive ambience of your home. But what do you do with it come January? You may know this already, but throwing a tree into the bin means it will produce methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, as it decomposes, which is less than ideal for the environment. Disposing of your tree responsibly means it won’t go to a landfill, and can even help support local wildlife. Here are some tips for sustainably recycling your Christmas tree.
Take your Christmas tree to your local recycling centre
Christmas trees can be chipped into mulch by your local recycling centre. Mulch can be made into nutrient-rich compost or used in local parks and green spaces to protect flower beds, make paths, and more. Check here to find out how you can recycle your Christmas tree with your local council.
Use your old Christmas tree in your own garden
There are so many uses for a Christmas tree in the garden – try chopping larger branches from the tree and using them to insulate fragile garden plants such as agapanthus, cannas and cordylines over winter. If you have access to a wood chipper, use the wood chips on your garden beds to retain moisture and slow down weed growth. You can also make a mulch out of the needles for acid-loving plants like blueberries, rhododendrons and azaleas.
Make a bug hotel or wildlife shelter
Trim the branches and twigs and use them to make a deadwood habitat by stacking or piling them in a quiet corner of your garden. This can make a home for insects and animals to hibernate over winter – stuff the gaps with dead leaves for an even cosier wildlife haven. You can use the smaller branches and needles to make a bug hotel, too!
Replant your Christmas tree
If your Christmas tree came in a pot with roots, you can replant it in your garden! Many garden centres and nurseries offer a Christmas tree rental service where you can get a real tree delivered in a pot for over Christmas, and then they take it back and keep growing it for next year. Some Christmas trees can be used up to 10 times until they get too big to be used as a home Christmas tree, at which point they are planted and grown in a woodland or used as larger Christmas trees in public spaces like village greens. Check out Green Elf Trees or ask your local nursery or garden centres if they offer a Christmas tree rental service.
Donate your Christmas tree to a wildlife sanctuary or zoo
Image from Noah’s Ark Zoo/BBC
If you live close to a wildlife sanctuary or zoo, they may take donations of real Christmas trees as a source of enrichment for their animals. Noah’s Ark Zoo in North Somerset has taken over 15,000 Christmas trees as donations, and they are given to the zoo’s animals, such as elephants, bears and rhinos, so they can enjoy the unusual texture and scent. The animals like to eat some of the Christmas trees, forage in them or throw them around just for fun! If you like the idea of an elephant playing with your Christmas tree (I know I do), then contact your local zoo or wildlife sanctuary to see if they take tree donations.
Donate your Christmas tree to build flood barriers and prevent erosion
Image from The Flood Hub
Christmas trees can be used to create flood barriers or prevent erosion in coastal areas and along river banks. to combat erosion. The Environment Agency uses old Christmas trees for natural erosion prevention, and the Dunes Project on the North West coast helps protect and extend the area’s sand dunes. They also collect donations for Trinity Hospice – if you live in the North West area, you can donate your tree here. Contact your local Wildlife Trust for more information on donating your Christmas tree locally.
We hope this has inspired you to recycle, donate or reuse your Christmas tree and to choose a real, sustainably grown Christmas tree in the future. Be sure to follow us for more tips on sustainability, reducing waste, and boosting biodiversity in the UK.
