It is estimated that most of the 8 million Christmas trees bought annually are simply thrown away*. However, once you decide it’s time to take your fir down, you have a number of recycling options that are good for the environment.

Take a look at our tips on recycling Christmas trees:

Help wildlife

• If possible, replant your fir tree - animals and birds can make use of it throughout the year, and you will save money by using it again.
• If not replanted, the trunk and branches can be used as a brush pile. Simply lay them out in the garden and watch the birds come.
• If you decide to put the Christmas tree out for the birds, you may want to decorate it with treats such as hanging fruit slices, and stale bread. You can coat pine cones in peanut butter and bird seed, and hang them from the tree, or smear the branches with suet.
• Following this line of thought, you could even donate it to a local zoo for the animals to enjoy – elephants love to eat fir trees.

Home use

• Why not make the most of those lovely smelling pine needles by creating fresh pine fragrance pouches? These can be put in clothes drawers or used to scent the room – simply separate the needles, then dry and crumble them. Mix them with cinnamon and put into small cloth bags.
• You could also use the pine needles to make a fragrant pin cushion – stuff a small cloth bag full with crushed pine needles and sew it closed.
• The fir tree can be used as a coat stand or towel rack, either with the tree stand as a base, or by making your own. The branches can be stripped down to 3-5 inches, and then painted or varnished to your taste.

Looking after your plants

• The pine needles can be used out in the garden as mulch for those plants that prefer acidic soil, such as hollies, rhododendrons and camellias. Spread the needles on the soil near the plants to help them grow.
• You can then turn the trunk of the fir tree into woodchips, which can be used as mulch in the garden. The woodchips help keep the moisture in the soil, and can reduce the amount of weeding that needs to be done.
• Large branches of your fir tree can be used to protect plants in the winter.

Recycling Christmas trees elsewhere

• Alternatively, contact your local authority to ask about their Christmas tree recycling scheme - if you can’t get to the tip, some councils will pick fir trees up from your home.
• Some garden centres will recycle the Christmas tree for you – they may even offer a reward in the form of a gift voucher for doing so.
• * Information taken from the Independent.