Treecycling: Severn Trent Green Power sprucing up sustainability by recycling Christmas trees across Oxfordshire

20 December 2023

This year, Green Power is on a mission to give every festive fir a second chance, turning them into valuable compost that'll help spread joy to local farmland.

Instead of leaving your Christmas tree pining away at the roadside, local council collection teams across Oxfordshire will be picking up trees and bringing them to one of Green Power’s five composting sites in the county.

Green Power teams will be working hard post-yuletide to shred the trees and turn them into useful compost, which potentially will be used to grow the next generation of Christmas trees!

Debra Barnacle, Client Liaison Manager at Green Power, said: “Why let your tree feel left out after the Christmas festivities are finished? Trees can be the real stars of the season, so we’re here to give them a second purpose.

“Our teams will work their magic to transform every tree into nutrient-rich compost. The trees are first passed through a shredder in which they are broken down into more manageable chunks. Then about eight weeks later they’re screened to remove the finer pieces, which goes on to make the compost. The larger pieces aren’t wasted, they go back into the process to continue breaking down, so nothing is missed. We’re calling it Tree-cycling!”

Oxfordshire residents with a real tree that needs recycling can find out what to do with it using the table below, though household waste recycling centres across the county will all be accepting trees for recycling.

Rachel Townsend, Waste Strategy Project Officer at Oxfordshire County Council, said: “There are plenty of options for recycling our Christmas tree. Check whether your district or city council is operating a kerbside collection service or local drop-off point near you, otherwise bring it to your nearest recycling centre. You can also consider whether it can be replanted to reuse next Christmas, or home composted.”

Three tips for recycling your Christmas tree this year:

1. Once you’re finished with your tree, make sure all the decorations are removed, especially any tinsel
2. If the tree’s particularly tall, try chopping it into three or four smaller pieces before it’s collected/disposed of
3. If your tree’s still potted with roots, consider whether you could place it in your garden and care for it until next Christmas

Christmas tree collections arrangements for Oxfordshire