Recycling Your Christmas Tree
What do you do with your Christmas tree after the festivities have finished? For those who choose a synthetic tree, it will be back in the box until next year. But for many others who have bought a farm-grown tree, it’s a tricky decision – a choice of leaving the tree outside or squeezing it into a green wheelie bin, which Dacorum Council will only collect in March.
Berkhamsted Residents
To encourage tree recycling, Dacorum’s waste services team are again setting up a shredding machine, in Water Lane Car Park, Berkhamsted for one day only, Sunday 5 January 2020. The pine trees are chipped, and these natural chippings are then used to keep council flower beds weed-free across the borough.
Helping local citizens to recycle their Christmas trees are the various Scout Groups from round Berkhamsted and Northchurch, co-ordinated by the 1st Berkhamsted Scout Group. 1st Berkhamsted Group has organised a tree-collection service for over 10 years, where Christmas trees are picked up from people’s houses and taken to the shredding site.
‘The shredding day is popular, and there is often a queue to drop off a tree’, says Paul Chambers, 1st Berkhamsted Scout Leader. ‘We save people time by taking their tree for them in our large vans, which cuts the number of individual cars trips to the shredder. It’s better for the environment, and you don’t have to spend ages clearing pine needles from the back of your car!’
Since launching the service in 2009, the local Scouts have helped to transport more than 6,000 Christmas trees for shredding. The charity suggests a minimum voluntary contribution of £4 per tree collected. The collection service involves over 80 volunteers and includes Scouts of all ages. It has sponsorship from local organisations including Bill’s restaurant, S Dell & Sons Removals, and Berkhamsted School.
The funds raised go towards equipment and activities for the children, maintenance of the Scout Huts, and financial support for trips and expeditions for the various local Scout groups.
‘It is a significant group effort with many volunteers and local businesses providing support, but we are proud of the community service we provide’, says Geoff Halls, 1st Berkhamsted Group Scout Leader.
The tree collection service is available for addresses in the Berkhamsted town and Northchurch areas.
Tree collections can be booked and paid for in advance at www.1stberkhamsted.org.uk/trees. The deadline for online bookings is midnight, 3 January. Alternatively, between 9am-3pm on Saturday 4 January, customers can buy a pre-paid collection tag (cash or card accepted) at the Scout Christmas tree stall on Berkhamsted High Street.
Pictured by kind permission of parents: Sid Hyland (top) and Isla Macnab (inset).
Tring Residents
1st Tring Scouts will be organising their Annual Christmas Tree Collection to raise group funds again this year and will be collecting again on Sunday 5 January.
If you want them to pick up your trees this year then please email tringscoutsxmastrees@gmail.com and let them know your address.
They’d be grateful of any donations you can give, please feel free to leave a donation in an envelope with the tree. If you would like any other information about the tree collection service then please email the above address.