Christmas ‘treecycling’ scheme returns for tenth year

A hospice is offering residents of Birmingham and the surrounding areas a quick, easy and environmentally friendly way to get rid of their Christmas tree in January.

This year, Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice’s ‘Treecycling’ campaign is back for its tenth year, and will see hundreds of volunteers collect thousands of real Christmas trees from people’s door steps in exchange for a donation to enable them to continue to care for local people.

The campaign, which is the charity’s largest fundraising campaign, will be taking place on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 January.

The initiative will see the trees recycled into compost and biomass fuel.

The charity is expecting to collect over 4,000 trees from postcodes across Birmingham, Sandwell and Solihull, and is hoping to raise more than £80,000 for the hospice.

Charlotte Dowling, community and corporate fundraising manager at Birmingham St Mary’s, said: “After a busy festive period, thinking about how to get rid of your Christmas tree is the last thing on your mind, that’s where our Treecyling volunteers step in.

“We’re on hand to collect your used Christmas tree direct from your doorstep, saving you the time and effort it would take to dispose of it yourself at your local tip. Treecycling is also a much more environmentally friendly way of getting rid of your tree, rather than taking it to the tip or just binning it.

“At a time when local people desperately need us, we’re losing out on crucial funds due the effects of Covid-19. As an organisation we’ve seen the postponement of fundraising events, community activities and corporate partnerships, as well as the temporary closure of our shops. All of our services are accessed free of charge and so we really do heavily rely on the generosity of our local community to enable us to be there for those who need us most.

“The safety of our volunteers and supporters is at the forefront of this year’s campaign and so we’ve ensured that the appropriate measures have been put in place ensure this is a Covid safe initiative.”

Postcodes for this year’s Treecycling campaign are: B13, B14, B15, B16, B17, B25, B26, B27, B28, B29, B30, B31, B32, B38, B45, B47, B62, B63, B67, B68, B90, B91, B92, B93 and B94.