It might seem a bit Scrooge to be talking about getting rid of the Christmas tree before the event is over, but it can help to know what to do before 12th night comes along.
Most councils have a facility to collect and recycle real Christmas trees, although it ranges in scope from good services collecting from the home to an expectation that you will lug it yourself somewhere not very convenient to get to if you don’t own a car.
They all have pretty much the same rules — remove all the decorations and no heavy soil pots. Some councils ask you to chop the tree into smaller chunks.
Check their websites for the specifics.
A festive corner of ianVisits towers
Barking and Dagenham
No collection service, but you can take them to nominated car parks, although only on just three specific dates, or the Frizlands Lane tip.
Barnet
Put your tree at the boundary of your property by 13th January for collection over one of the two weekends that follow.
Bexley
Real Christmas trees will be collected from households that have signed up to the garden waste collection service., with collections from Monday 9th January 2023.
Residents who have not signed up to the garden waste service can take their real Christmas tree to one of the two waste and recycling centres at Thames Road in Crayford and Maidstone Road in Foots Cray for recycling.
Brent
If you are signed up to their garden waste service, you can cut your tree into pieces and place these in your green bin.
There will also be drop-off points between Monday 26 December to Sunday 8 January 2023, or you can take the tree to the Abbey Road Reuse and Recycling Centre at any time it’s open.
Bromley
Residents who are members of the green garden waste wheelie bin collection service can use this service to recycle their real Christmas trees. Trees must be put in the bins for recycling and broken down if necessary.
Temporary tree recylcing centres will be open on Sat and Sun 7th-8th Jan, and Christmas trees can also be recycled at Waldo Road and Churchfields Road reuse and recycling centres when those centres are open
Camden
Christmas tree recycling points will be open at Brunswick Square and Clarence Gardens from Tues 3rd to Sun 15th January 2023.
Collections from your home are available if you have a garden waste collection service, or you can arrange to pay for collection as part of their large household item removal service.
City of London
Trees should be taken to collection points advertised on their website and on estates just after Christmas.
Croydon
Leave your tree out in front of your property from 9th January 2023 and it will be collected over the next fortnight. If you prefer, you can also take your tree to your nearest household reuse and recycling centre.
Ealing
You can leave your tree on the front edge of your property, to have it taken away for recycling during the month of January.
Alternatively, you can also take your Christmas tree to the listed council parks and open spaces until the end of January, or to Greenford reuse and recycling centre.
Enfield
If you have subscribed to the garden waste service, you can place your real Christmas tree out for collection on your scheduled garden waste collection day.
Otherwise, there’s a large number of local collection points set up, which are open through most of January.
Christmas trees can also be taken to Barrowell Green Recycling Centre at anytime.
Greenwich
Trees will be collected as part of the green bin collection service, which will resume as normal from the week of January 9th 2023.
If you live in a house, place the tree outside the front of your home beside your bin. If you live in a block of flats, put the tree next to the communal bins.
Hackney
The council will collect your real Christmas tree from your home between 2nd and 13th January depending your recycling day.
If you live in a block of flats, put your Christmas tree out on your nearest street, on their recycling collection day. Christmas trees are not collected from bin stores.
You can also take your tree to Millfields Depot during January 8am to 3pm Mondays to Fridays, or 8am to 12 noon on Saturdays.
Hammersmith and Fulham
If you normally get an on-street rubbish collection, simply leave your tree where you’d leave your rubbish between Mon 2nd and Sun 22nd January 2023.
You can also take your tree to one of ten drop-off points across the borough.
Haringey
Place your tree next to your general waste bin on collection day. Tall trees need to be chopped up.
Christmas trees can also be taken to Haringey’s Reuse and Recycling Centre, or you can take them to designated sites in one of five local parks.
Harrow
Appears to be limited to taking the tree to the recycling centre in Wealdstone.
Havering
Garden waste service customers can cut your tree in half and place it in your green bin with the lid closed on your collection day.
Otherwise, you can take your tree to the Gerpins Lane Reuse and Recycling Centre.
And finally, you can book a home collection for a voluntary donation to the Saint Francis Hospice.
Hillingdon
You can recycle Christmas trees with the usual garden waste collection through January.
If you live in a block of flats, call the council to arrange collection between 9th-22nd January.
Hounslow
Real Christmas trees will be collected between Mon 9th and Fri 20th January 2023.
Collections will be carried out on the scheduled Garden Waste collection week for your road – this will be on the alternate week but same day as your usual scheduled black wheeled bin (rubbish) collection.
Residents that live in a flat will need to contact their managing agent / resident association for collection.
Alternatively, there are 6 drop off points around the borough open between 26th December to 27th January.
Islington
Leave your real tree with the rest of your recycling on your property on your scheduled recycling day. We will collect it on your normal recycling collection day between Tues 3rd and Sat 14th January 2023.
If you live in a private block of flats, you need to pay for a collection.
Alternatively, there are 9 drop-off points in parks and will be open between Mon 2nd to Tuesday 17th January 2023.
The Reuse and Recycling Centre, Hornsey Street also accepts green waste and Christmas trees all year round.
Kensington and Chelsea
Trees will be collected on your rubbish and recycling collection day, between Tues 3rd and Fri 21st January 2023.
Alternatively, you can take the tree to one of the borough’s drop-off points between Mon 2nd and Sun 22nd Jan 2023.
Kingston upon Thames
Real Christmas trees will be collected from households from Mon 9th Jan 2023. If you want your tree to be collected, place it out on the 9 January and it will be collected as soon as possible.
Lambeth
Leave your tree next to your bins on your collection day from 2nd Jan 2023. They note that they may skip collecting the tree one week, so put it back out the following week.
If you live on an estate, leave your real Christmas tree by the bin areas or bulky waste collection areas.
Alternatively, you can take the tree to the two recycling centres, or to a drop-off site in Clapham Common between 2nd and 13th January.
Lewisham
If you have a garden waste bin, you can use it to recycle your real Christmas tree. Just cut it into pieces no bigger than 10cm thick and 50cm long.
Otherwise, there will be collection points open across the borough between Tues 27th Dec and Fir 3rd Feb 2023.
Merton
You can take your tree to the recycling centre in Morden, or they will collect from your home.
Home collection details to be confirmed.
Newham
You can request a free garden waste collection, which includes Christmas trees.
Redbridge
They usually have a home collection service, but details not available yet.
You can also take the tree to the Chigwell Road Reuse and Recycling Centre.
Richmond upon Thames
There will be christmas tree collections between Tues 3rd and Fri 13th January 2023. The council will collect your real Christmas trees for recycling along with your regular waste and recycling.
You can also take your tree to one the drop-off points between Tues 3rd and Fri 13th January 2023.
People living in flats are asked to leave the tree in the communal bins area.
Southwark
Put out your Christmas tree with your food and garden waste containers on your collection day. If you don’t have a food or garden waste collection, you need to request a free collection.
You can also take your Christmas tree to their Reuse and Recycling centre near the Old Kent Road.
Sutton
Christmas trees – you can recycle your tree at the Reuse and Recycling Centre or check on the website after Christmas for their kerbside collection.
Tower Hamlets
There will be a collection for the recycling of real Christmas trees from Mon 9th to Fri 19th Jan 2023. Leave the tree out for collection on your scheduled day during this period.
If you do not have kerbside food and garden collections, contact your property landlord or management company who can arrange collections from the nominated communal collection points.
Waltham Forest
Free collections from Monday 2nd Jan 2023 for houses with wheeled bins, leave the tree outside with the rest of the rubbish on the evening before standard collections.
For people in flats, you need to book a collection from the comunal bin area.
You can also take your trees to a recycling centre in Leyton, Chingford or Walthamstow.
Wandsworth
The council will collect your real Christmas tree for recycling on a scheduled collection day for your street between Tuesday 3rd and Monday 16th January 2023.
Residents who live in blocks of flats should leave their trees near to their refuse bin store.
Westminster
No home collections.
You can take your tree to one of 25 drop-off point from 28th December to the end of 8th January 2023. Opening hours are 8am to 8pm unless they are in parks, which close at 4.30pm.
