The council is reminding residents that it is collecting unwanted Christmas trees free of charge as part of normal refuse pick ups and that there is no need to dump them on pavements and street corners.

All unwanted Christmas trees are being collected free of charge from people's front gardens on their normal refuse collection days.

This annual collection service runs up until January 15. Trees should be placed in front gardens where collectors can see them.

People who do not have front gardens may need to leave them on the highway if they have nowhere else to put them at the front of their properties, but in these cases, the trees should only be left out on the day they are due to be picked up. Dumping trees on pavements and on road surfaces cause obstructions and can be dangerous. Parents with children in buggies or disabled people in wheelchairs often have to travel along the road surface, on the outside of parked cars, in order to get around trees that are blocking footpaths.

It also adds a burden to council tax payers as the council needs to send out special collection crews to remove trees that have been unnecessarily abandoned and are causing obstructions.
Environment spokesman Cllr Jonathan Cook said:
"There really is no reason whatsoever to dump trees in the street. We will come along and pick them up free of charge at the same time as we empty your bins and collect your recycling sacks.

"We would urge residents to be patient and just leave the trees in their front gardens and avoid blocking pavements. As long as our collectors can see them from the road we will take them away.

"It is a shame that some people cannot wait just a few days to have them picked up properly. Dumping them on the highway simply adds pressure to their own council tax bills because it is an added expense if we have to pick them up at other times - so the people who do this are simply wasting both theirs and their neighbour's money."

All collected trees are shredded and turned into compost.

January 8, 2013