With 250,000 Christmas trees being taken down in Somerset, what is the best solution to ensure it is recycled right, from composting a real tree to recycling anything artificial and broken?
Trees that are “natural and naked” – real and with all decorations removed – can be taken to any recycling site to be composted into the Revive soil conditioner.
Garden waste subscribers can put out their de-decorated real trees with their bin or paper sack collections, which resume from Monday.
Real trees can be chipped or composted at home, or the branches cut off to use to protect garden beds from frost.
Artificial trees with metal frames, with or without inbuilt lights, can be taken to any recycling site; just ask staff for the correct electrical or metals skip.
All-plastic artificial trees can be landfilled through a recycling site or – if it will fit without leaving the lid open – through your rubbish bin.
With all waste collections back to usual from Monday 9 January, the very final option for a real tree is out with the first rubbish collection on the resumed schedule.
For more on festive collections and recycling, see www.somersetwaste.gov.uk.