Warwickshire residents are being urged to recycle their real Christmas trees - and there's also an option to support charity

Residents across Warwickshire are being urged to recycle their real Christmas trees - and there's also an option to support charity while doing so.

The Charity Christmas Tree Recycling in aid of Pass the Smile and the Myton Hospice is once again returning for its fifth year.

The Coventry and Warwickshire Christmas tree recycling scheme will be holding collections across the majority of the county.

Launched in 2020, the project has now raised more than £100,000, funds which help both charities.

January 2023 was a bumper year for the collection, with more than 3,300 trees collected, raising £45,750.

Donations are welcomed and in exchange the real Christmas tree will be collected and shredded to make pathways for Russells Garden Centre in Baginton.

Collection dates are January 12, 13 and 14 and registration closes on January 8 at 11.59pm.

Bookings for tree collections can be made at: www.just-helping.org.uk/register-tree

Alternatively, to get involved with the collection, volunteer or help in any other way, email: [email protected]

Warwickshire County Council has also provided some more recycling options for residents with real trees.

Residents may be able to put their trees out at the kerbside for collection alongside their green garden waste wheeled bin. This should be checked first with the council responsible for bin collections.

Another option given was for residents to compost their trees at home. The council says it will take a bit of work to compost a real Christmas tree at home but it is possible. Residents should remove the branches and chop up into small pieces and place the compost bin.

The stem of the tree will take a very long time to compost unless using a garden shredder.

Residents can also take trees to a recycling centre and place it in the green waste container/skip. Residents should pre-book visits at: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/hwrc

All decorations should be removed from trees before recycling and that if there are any fairy lights that no longer work, they should be taken to a local recycling centre for recycling.

Artificial Christmas trees cannot be recycled and can be reuse via the reuse shops at the recycling centres.