Recycled Christmas trees help gardens grow in Dacorum

Dacorum residents recycled over 6,000 Christmas trees for free at Dacorum Borough Council's chipping points.

The annual recycling day has been running in Dacorum for 26 years, and on Sunday, January 9, it soared back to pre-COVID levels with local Scouts groups and the Hospice of St Francis able to offer tree collections again.

The groups were welcomed back along with residents at the three chipping points set up at the outdoor locations of Cupid Green Depot, Hemel Hempstead, Canal Fields car park, Berkhamsted and Tring Garden Centre.

Some Christmas trees were passed through the chippers and the chippings were available for residents to take away and reuse in their gardens as a weed preventative.

The remaining trees and chippings will be recycled into compost ready to eventually be returned to the soil to help new plants to grow.

The council received several evergreen trees that were still alive and potted in soil with the roots intact. These trees were kept aside for re-planting.

The council encourages anyone who has a Christmas tree that is still alive and has roots to either keep it in their garden to reuse next year or offer it to someone else who will be able to give it a good home.

Useful hints and tips for those who want to do their bit for the environment can be found on the council's ‘Top tips to go green’ web page.

For those who missed the Christmas tree chipping day, real Christmas trees can be recycled at the Recycling Centres in Eastman Way in Hemel Hempstead or in Northbridge Road in Berkhamsted.

Trees must not be left at any of the borough’s other recycling sites as this will be treated as fly-tipping.

Alternatively, the tree can be cut up and stored in the green bin ready for garden waste collections to begin again in the spring. An extra green bin can be ordered by visiting the council’s 'Additional garden waste subscription service' web page.