04 January 2011

How to recycle and compost your Christmas tree and rubbish
Did you know that many UK councils are offering thier residents the ability to compost their real Christmas trees by placing them in or next to their green-lidded bin?

Contact your local council to ensure that they are offering this service. You can find the contact telephone number for your council by visiting this link http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Dl1/Directories/Localcouncils/AToZOfLocalCouncils/DG_A-Z_LG

Christmas trees placed in the green-lidded bin should have all decorations removed and should be broken down to ensure that no branches are thicker than three inches or more than two feet long. As Christmas trees may be shredded at a composting facility, large trees may cause damage to the shredding equipment. Generally, any tree up to 6 feet in length and with a trunk up to 3 inches in diameter can be placed out whole for collection. Any tree longer or wider than this should be cut up into smaller sections - again please check this with your local council.

As we all know Christmas generates a lot of extra rubbish, but much of it can be recycled or composted. As well as Christmas trees you can also recycle cardboard, Christmas cards and all left over food in the green-lidded composting bin. Glass bottles and jars and plastic bottles can be recycled in the equivalent glass or plastic bins/containers. Alternately, you can take your trees, cards, waste food, glass, plastics etc to your local recycling centre or bank.