Recycle your Christmas tree

Find out what you can do with your real or artificial trees, where our recycling points are, information on collection services, and advice on reusing or re-purposing your tree.

Where to take your real or artificial Christmas tree

You can recycle real or dispose of artificial Christmas trees at our Household Waste Recycling Sites.

If you're signed up to our garden waste service you can place your real Christmas tree next to your garden waste bin on your usual collection day (between 5 January and 14 February 2026).

The last garden waste collection of 2025 is on 19 December and will re-start on 5 January 2026. 

Do not leave trees on the pavement, road or beside a communal bin. This is fly-tipping and you could be fined.

Recycling points in the city

If you have a real tree, you can leave it at any of our 23 Christmas tree recycling points across the city.

Before leaving your tree, remove it from its pot and make sure you've taken off all decorations.

Every real tree is turned into soil improver or compost. You can buy this soil improver from our household waste recycling sites.

Our Christmas tree recycling points will be open from Monday 29 December 2025 until Friday 6 February 2026.

Find your nearest Christmas tree recycling point on our map 

View a list of our Christmas tree recycling locations

Collection services

Charity Christmas tree collection service 

Christmas can be a challenging time for those suffering bereavement and you can make a real difference to them by supporting AtaLoss, the UK’s bereavement signposting and information service.

You can support them by having your real Christmas tree, with decorations removed, collected from outside your door.

AtaLoss are co-ordinating the Christmas tree collections through Just Helping.

They will collect trees on:

  • Monday 12 January 2026
  • Tuesday 13 January 2026
  • Wednesday 14 January 2026

You can register for a tree collection on the Just Helping website. Registrations are open now and will close on Wednesday 7 January.

About AtaLoss

AtaLoss offer comprehensive, online signposting to over 2000 vetted services on their website, and community support through the award-winning The Bereavement Journey® programme.

Last year, Brighton and Hove residents alone recycled 360 trees into wood chippings. Total money raised for AtaLoss last year was £11,884.75. 

The charity is grateful for the city’s support and would love to build on this success in 2026.

Using other collection services

If you use a company or individual to recycle or dispose of your Christmas tree, we recommend that you check they hold a waste carrier licence from the Environment Agency. If you don’t, as the waste owner, you may be investigated and fined or have court action taken against you.

We recommend that you take a photo or a copy of the waste carrier licence as proof that you have verified the company or individual.

Reusing or re-purposing your Christmas tree

You can reuse your real Christmas trees in a range of eco-friendly ways.

For example, you could:

  • replant a rooted tree in your garden and use it again next year
  • create a shelter for wildlife
  • use the branches to keep tender plants warm, as a stake to hold them up or as a bird feeding station with feeders hung on the branches
  • get creative at home - make coasters from slices of the trunk or pine scented sachets for your wardrobe from the needles

If you no longer need your artificial tree consider selling it online, donating to charity, or listing it on a platform such as Freegle.