How to Recycle and Dispose of your 2023 Christmas Tree in London for Free
Free disposal and recycling of your 2023 xmas tree in London
2023 Christmas/ 2024 New Year Christmas tree disposal options now updated!
Do you live in London and want to dispose of your 2023 Christmas tree for free? You're in the right place. This blog covers all of the free Christmas tree disposal options available in London. Plus some paid alternatives and some great tips to make the process as hassle free as possible.
How to dispose of your Christmas tree for free in London?
There are three main ways to get rid of your Christmas tree:
1. Council collection from your home
Many London councils offer their residents a free kerbside Christmas tree collection service. The exact service varies between councils. For example, some collect at the same time as the normal household general waste collection. Some only collect if you are signed up to the garden waste service. While this is the most convenient type of Christmas tree disposal, there are some boroughs that don't offer it. Keep scrolling to see whether your borough has kerbside collection.
Note - council collections don't apply to businesses.
2. Take it to a nearby Council drop off point
Rather than have it picked up from your home, you take it to a nearby drop off point. There is usually at least one designated drop off point for old Christmas trees in every London borough. This option is very useful if you don't fancy waiting around for kerbside collection - which only occur on fixed dates. Drop off points are located at local tips/ civic amenity sites but also at various temporary locations. The table below has details for each borough.
3. Christmas tree retailers collect it
A few London Christmas tree sellers offer a disposal and recycling service:
- Camden Garden Centre - receives old trees for free in its car park.
- Boma Garden Centre receives old trees for free in its car park.
Also Clickmas Trees, Pines and Needles and Christmas Forest offer a collection service but this is chargeable. Prices range from £15 - £65 depending on size of tree and service required.
Council collections and drop off points by borough
| BOROUGH | KERBSIDE XMAS TREE COLLECTIONS | DROP OFF POINTS |
| Barking & Dagenham | Drop off only. | Recycling drop off points here. |
| Barnet | Put at the boundary of property by 12th January 2024. Collection over one of the 2 weekends that follow. | Summers Lane recycling centre in North Finchley. |
| Bexley | Christmas trees will be collected from Monday 8 January 2024. Only for households that have signed up for the Bexley garden waste collection service. | Recycling centres at Thames Road in Crayford or Maidstone Road in Foots Cray. |
| Brent | If you are signed up for Brent garden waste service, you can cut your tree into pieces and place these in your green bin. | Reuse and Recycling Centre, Abbey Road, NW10 7TJ (closed 25-26 December and 1 January). |
| Bromley | Residents who are members of the green garden waste wheelie bin collection service can use this service to recycle their real Christmas trees. Trees must be put in the bins for recycling. | Saturday 6th January 2024, 11am-4pm drop off at
On Sunday 7th January 2024 from 8am-12pm, drop off at
Or go to Waldo Road or Churchfields Road reuse and recycling centres - but you have to bring your waste disposal permit. |
| Camden | Collection available as part of the garden waste subscription service. | Drop off points. Or use Regis Road Reuse and Recycling Centre. |
| Croydon | Collections available from Monday 8 January 2024. Leave it out with your bins and the council will collect as soon as possible. | Take it to the Household Reuse and Recycling Centre at Factory Lane, Fishers Farm or Purley Oaks. |
| City of London | Real trees can be brought to collection points advertised on their websites and on estates just after Christmas. | Contact your Estate Office or concierge for details about where and how you can recycle your tree. |
| Ealing | Leave Christmas trees out with your black rubbish bins in January and the council will collect them as part of the normal service. | Greenford Reuse and Recycling centre, Greenford Road, UB6 9AP. Remember to book a slot in advance to use the centre. |
| Enfield | For subscribers of the garden waste service, leave your Christmas tree out for collection on the scheduled garden waste collection day. | Barrowell Green Recycling Centre - book an appointment. The site has limited opening times around the festive period. Other drop off locations available until Sunday 28th January 2024. |
| Greenwich | Greenwich will collect Christmas Trees as part of the green bin (food and garden waste) collection service from the week of 8 January 2024. | Reuse and Recycling Centre on Nathan Way, SE28 0AF. |
| Hackney | Trees will be collected with monthly garden waste collection. Put your tree out on the front boundary of your property by 6am. | Drop off info here. |
| Hammersmith & Fulham | Collection available between Tuesday 2nd - Monday 22nd Jan 2024. Leave your tree out before 7am on regular bin day. | See list of sites here. |
| Haringey | Leave your tree next to general waste bin on collection day. If you have communal bins, leave your tree next to the communal waste container. | From 26 December 2023 to 14 January 2024:
|
| Harrow | Limited to taking the tree to a local recycling centre. | Harrow Recycling Centre in Wealdstone. |
| Havering | Arrange free collection through Saint Francis Hospice until Monday 8 January 2024 (donations taken as "payment").
If you are a garden waste service customer - leave the tree with green bin collection. |
Gerpins Lane Reuse and Recycling Centre in Upminster. |
| Hillingdon | Christmas trees can be recycled for free as part of the weekly garden waste collection service. If you live in a flat, email [email protected] to book. | Drop off points are Harefield Civic Amenity Site and West Drayton Waste. |
| Hounslow | Leave with scheduled garden waste between Monday 8th and Friday 19th January 2024. | Drop off points. |
| Islington | Leave your tree out on scheduled recycling day.
If you live on a council estate in Islington, you can leave the tree at a lumber point (if there is one) or have it collected on Saturday 6 January or Saturday 13 January 2024. |
Drop off points here between Jan 2 - 14th 2024. |
| Kensington and Chelsea | Kerbside waste collection on the normal collection date between between 2nd - 19th January 2024. | Drop off points here Jan 2 - 21st 2024. |
| Kingston Upon Thames | Christmas trees collected alongside normal rubbish/ recycling collection days from Monday 8th January for 2 weeks. | Drop off point at recycling centre off Villiers Road. |
| Lambeth | Collecting real Christmas trees for free from 2 January 2023. | Drop off point at recycling sites. |
| Lewisham | If you have a garden waste bin, you can use it to recycle your real Christmas tree. Just cut it into pieces no bigger than 50cm long. | Between Tuesday 27 December - Friday 3rd February, drop your Christmas tree at these sites. |
| Merton | Free collection - just leave outside from Monday 8 January 2024. Or, if you subscribe to garden waste collection service, cut up and put in garden waste bin. | Drop off point at Garth Road Reuse and Recycling Centre. |
| Newham | Book a Christmas tree collection for between 27th Dec 2023 - 14 Jan 2024 here. | Drop off point at Jenkins Lane Reuse and Recycling centre in Beckton. |
| Redbridge | Collection between 8th-19th January. | Drop off point at Chigwell Road tip. |
| Richmond upon Thames | They will collect your real Christmas tree for recycling on the normal scheduled garden waste collection day for your street between 8th and 19th Jan 2024. | Drop off points available between Wed 27th Dec 2023 - Fri 19th Jan 2024. |
| Southwark | If you do not receive a food or garden waste collection, email [email protected] stating your name and full address to request a real Christmas collection - then leave your Christmas tree for collection outside your property at ground floor level. Trees over 6 feet long should be cut in half. | Drop off point at Reuse and Recycling Centre on Devon Street (off old Kent Road) - must book a permit |
| Sutton | Typically they collect from mid-January onwards. | Drop off point at Kimpton Park Way, Household Reuse and Recycling Centre. |
| Tower Hamlets | Collection available with food and garden bin collection. Available between 8 - 19 January 2024. | Limited to Yabsley Street recycling centre. |
| Waltham Forest | Free collection service for real Christmas trees from Tuesday 2 January with brown bin collection day
For communal properties with communal bins, book a collection here If you have a sack collection, use the same link. |
Drop off points at recycling centres in Leyton, Chingford or Walthamstow. |
| Wandsworth | From Monday 8 January 2024 leave the Christmas tree with the usual rubbish on the morning of collection. | Between Thurs 28 Dec 2023 and Wed 31 Jan 2024, drop off:
|
| Westminster | Drop off only | There are 25 Xmas tree recycling drop off points - find your nearest here
Between Wednesday 27 Dec 2023 and end of day Wednesday 10 Jan 2024 between 8am-8pm (parks close at 4:30pm) |
Christmas tree removal with LoveJunk
Do you want to get rid of your tree quickly? LoveJunk Christmas Tree Removal can help!
All you have to do is take a quick photo of your tree and post it on the LoveJunk marketplace. Local licensed waste carriers submit bids to take it away. Compare prices and ratings to choose the best offer.
The typical collection price for a single Xmas tree is £10 - £30 (depending on size and location), and the average response time is 2 minutes. All collections are undertaken by a fully licensed waste carrier who can remove from in or outside the property. Payment is online, and collection is contact-free.
Christmas Tree Disposal Tips Video
See Christmas Tree Disposal Video plus transcript here.
Top tips for Christmas tree disposal
Some of these may seem obvious, but here are some tips for disposing of your Xmas tree safely and responsibly.:
- Councils only accept the tree, so remove any pots, soil or decorations.
- Artificial trees that are beyond reuse should go to the recycling centre.
- If being collected in your garden waste bin, it is necessary to cut the tree down to size.
- In areas where you can leave your tree out to be collected with your usual rubbish, make sure it's not obstructing the pavement.
- Dumping your Christmas tree randomly on the street counts as fly-tipping and can carry a hefty fine.
Finally,
Thanks for reading! We hope you found this post useful. For further reading about rubbish removal, try our How to Dispose of Rubbish article.
As a London householder, you might like some of our other blog posts:
- How to dispose of your sofa in London
- 10 Eco-friendly ways to dispose of furniture in London
- Everything you need to know about London's HWRC's
- The Ultimate Guide to Freecycle London
