Where you can recycle your Christmas tree in Calderdale

Ogden Water Local Nature Reserve in Halifax is offering a service to people across Calderdale to recycle Christmas trees and will be open for people to drop off their trees until the end of January.

Ogden Water has been recycling Christmas trees for more than 10 years and in the last three years has collecting more than 6,500 trees– around £200,000 worth – which have been used to help with on-site management. Those with roots will be planted and those that do not have roots will be used to create a border around the reservoir.

This border prevents anyone from accessing the water – helping to keep people safe while still enjoying the site.

It also creates a habitat that is used by different birds, mammals insects and plants to breed, grow and develop over the coming year.

Once the trees are collected, there will be a number of community days on Tuesdays, January 9, 16, 23 and 30 where volunteers are needed to help staff to prepare the trees and lay them around the reservoir side.

Calderdale Council’s cabinet member for neighbourhoods and communities, Coun Susan Press, said: “Ogden Water was one of the first places to recycle Christmas trees in this way, and staff and volunteers on site will be happy to take unwanted trees off your hands.

“It’s sad to see trees out with people’s rubbish after Christmas, but by donating old trees to Ogden Water they’re given a new lease of life and will be used to create a habitat for wildlife.”

If anyone would like to join in with these sessions, contact Chris Sutcliffe on 07769 954956.

The team at Overgate Hospice will also be collecting and recycling Christmas trees, in return for a donation, as part of its tree recycling scheme.

This year the team will be collecting real Christmas trees from homes across Calderdale from Friday (January 5).

Residents do not even need to be home to have their tree collected as they can be picked up from their front garden.

Community fundraiser Harriet Eames said: “We are always looking for ways to raise funds whilst helping the community and this is a fantastic way of doing just that.

“The campaign raised over £4,500 last year and we are hoping to collect even more trees this January.”

Residents that would like to save themselves the time of recycling their tree can book in for a collection and donate at the same time, supporting the work of Overgate Hospice.

To book a collection, visit www.overgatehospice.org.uk or call 01422 387121.