Around 250 tonnes of real Christmas trees are thrown away in landfills every year.

A marker that the festivities are over, taking the tree down can be a very sad affair!

But what if taking the tree down meant giving it new life and supporting charity? 

In postcode area LS3 – you are in the collection zone for Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust tree collection!

Sign up to their ‘treecycling’ scheme here by 5pm on Tuesday, January 2nd.

For a donation (they ask it to be GiftAid-ed it if you qualify as a UK tax payer) their team of volunteers will collect your tree from outside your front door on Tuesday, January 9th. 

These are just some of the amazing ways the Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust uses their donations.

They will take it to be safely recycled. The trees will be made into chippings to be used for compost.

Alternatively, whilst the Brecon Recycling Centre is closed for refurbishment, garden waste can be taken the old Brecon high school site in Penlan, off Cerrigcochion Road, Brecon, LD3 9SR on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday mornings (9am-1pm).

hey can also be recycled in the green wheelie bin, or in the brown recycling non-reusable sack. 

If you want to use your tree at home, Christmas trees can be used as firewood, and the smaller branches and needles can be used as kindling.  

The needles can also be turned into mulch and used as compost for the garden! To do this, you should add weeds, veg peelings and leafy debris and a sheltered, shady spot.  

If you have the space, leaving your tree in a sheltered place in the garden means it will become a great place for wildlife - big and small. Bugs will be able to use the tree as a habitat and shelter, and if you unattached smaller branches and needles, birds will use them for nesting and insulation.