Recycling at Christmas 🎄

Here is some guidance on how you can recycle your extra waste this Christmas.

Christmas trees

Real trees

If you have a real Christmas tree you can either plant it to use next year, if it has roots, or recycle your Christmas tree at your local recycling centre or tip or donate to your local charity.

If you have a Garden Waste Collection Service subscription?

You can put your real Christmas tree out with your other garden waste on a collection date before the end of January. There will be no garden waste collections from 22 December 2025 to 5 January 2026.

What to do with artificial Christmas trees

Reuse for as long as possible:

• Artificial trees are designed to last many years. Keeping and reusing your tree annually is the most sustainable option.

If you no longer want your artificial tree but it’s still usable, consider donating it to:

• Local charities or community centres
• Schools, churches, or offices
• Online platforms such as Freecycle or Facebook Marketplace

Artificial trees are usually made from mixed plastics and metals, which makes them difficult to recycle. If the tree is broken beyond repair, it should be taken to your local household waste recycling centre or tip.

Wrapping paper, greetings cards and gift tags

• You can put these in your recycling bin.
• Please remove as much sticky tape/Sellotape as you can. 
• Don't include wrapping paper with foil or glitter or cards with batteries. 

Bottles and cans

You can add these items to your recycling bin. Check your recycling collection day in your area because during the festive period collections can vary.

Food waste

You can put all food waste in your food waste caddy, including carcasses, bones, seafood shells and nutshells. Discover what food waste you can recycle using our food waste collections or compost.

Small electricals

Over the festive season many households replace old gadgets and decorations, especially fairy lights. Please don’t put these items in your household bins, remember small electricals such as lights, hairdryers, kettles, laptops and mobiles, toys with plugs or batteries can all be recycled at local collection banks or community recycling centres.

Recycling helps recover valuable materials and ensures hazardous parts are disposed of safely, so when you upgrade this Christmas, remember to recycle your unwanted electricals responsibly.

Christmas, waste and the importance of recycling

The festive season is a time of joy, but it also brings a significant increase in household waste. From wrapping paper and packaging to food scraps and decorations, Christmas can put extra pressure on our environment if materials aren’t disposed of responsibly.

We encourage everyone to reduce, reuse, and recycle wherever possible:

• Reduce: Choose gifts with minimal packaging, plan meals carefully to avoid food waste, and opt for reusable alternatives like fabric gift wrap or refillable advent calendars.

• Reuse: Save gift bags, ribbons, and wrapping paper for next year. Donate unwanted items to local charities rather than throwing them away.

• Recycle: Many festive items can go straight into your recycling bin, including cardboard boxes, glass bottles, and certain plastics. To check exactly what can be recycled, visit our What can I recycle page.

By making small changes, we can all help reduce the environmental impact of Christmas and ensure that valuable materials are given a second life.