Programme allows Newark and Sherwood residents to recycle real Christmas trees

Residents are once again able to recycle their real Christmas trees through Newark and Sherwood’s Christmas tree recycling programme.

For a £5 fee residents can have their tree collected and recycled.

All money from the scheme will be put towards the planting of whips and saplings around the district.

Last year, the proceeds went to a primary school where new trees, including silver birch, hazel, rowan and crab apples, were planted to form a small school woodland.

The council’s waste management team will be collecting trees for a £5 fee from January.

To book your collection go to the council’s website or call the customer services team on 01636 650 000.

The collected trees will be recycled into chippings to be used in the district for path surfacing, if suitable, or used for mulch on shrub beds to keep weeds at bay, so not only will the money from the collections go back into the community, but so will the trees themselves.

David Lloyd, council leader, said: “Recycling your Christmas tree not only means residents don’t have to worry about how to dispose of their tree, but also means the community can be greener at Christmas, which can be difficult at this time of year.

“We are continually working to make the district a better place to live, work and visit and there is no reason why we should not continue this throughout the Christmas period.

“This recycling scheme means that even once our Christmas trees are done decorating our homes they still have an important purpose.”

If residents pay for a garden waste collection service they can also put their real trees in their garden waste bin for recycling.

All real trees can also be taken to any household recycling centre in the district.