5 ways to recycle your christmas tree

1) The easiest and most common way of disposing of an old Christmas tree is simply to haul it outside and shove in the organics bin. Hack and put it up so it fits in there nicely for the crew to collect. Or you can take it to the tip yourself.

2) There are also private services you can call to come and personally remove a tree, though these can be pretty expensive. Some councils will pick it up if you place it curbside.

3) If you have a compost heap you can cut it up into more manageable sizes and put at the bottom. Pine tree needles are acidic and so balance out alkaline, like wood ash.

4) Replant the tree. If you were savvy and got a small tree with roots attached from the garden centre, plant it outside or repot it ready for next Christmas.

5) If you have a chainsaw, saw off all the smaller branches of a Christmas tree and you’ll be left with a nicely manageable trunk. From here you can saw the trunk into two-inch-thick rounds, which can be used to line a garden bed. Or you could slice it even thinner and use the rounds as coasters—you might want to use some polyurethane or another coating to keep the sap from coming out.

One thing we can’t recommend doing: Don’t ever chop up the wood from a Christmas tree and light it in your fireplace. Evergreens have high levels of creosote, which is basically tar, and can cause extremely dangerous smoke and buildup.