Prestonians to be charged to get rid of their Christmas tree

What’s your plan for when the festive fun ends and you need to ditch the Christmas Tree? Pic: Serge

Getting rid of your Christmas tree may cost you a fiver this festive season.

Preston City Council is proposing a quick-fire charge on removing trees from properties around the city.

Anyone who hasn’t signed up to the brown bin charge, doesn’t have a brown bin or doesn’t put their tree in the bin faces the new charge.

Leader of the city council councillor Peter Rankin has signed off the proposal, which is due to come into force from Thursday 15 December and will also run at Christmas 2017 as well as this year.

Last year there were 50 unwanted trees collected free of charge by the city council.

Director of environment at the city coiuncil Adrian Phillips said: “This is the first Christmas where the charge for garden waste collections has been in place. Over 18,000 households in Preston have chosen to have the garden waste collection service and for those people they will be unaffected.

“For those people who have chosen not to have a garden waste collection but would still like us to collect their tree, we have introduced a small nominal charge of £5 to collect and recycle the Christmas tree.

“There are many other ways to recycle Christmas trees from taking it to the household waste recycling centre at Tom Benson Way – to even composting, shredding and using for firewood. Our Christmas tree recycling collection service can been pre-booked at www.preston.gov.uk”

What are the rules?

If you’re signed up to the brown bin charge for green waste then your tree collection is free, as long as it’s in your brown bin. You can’t leave it by the side.

Only trees which are six foot or under can be collected.

It must be a real Christmas tree.

Collection is from 27 December to 31 January.

How can I get rid of my tree for free?

Go to your nearest household waste recycling centre

What if I put my tree in the black bin?

You’ll get charged a fiver. And they won’t take your bin.

What if I don’t have a brown bin?

The council says you either need to pay for the collection, or go to a household waste recycling centre at Ingol, Faringdon or elsewhere.

Or in the council’s own words, as their report on the charge notes: “There may be a small impact on those residents in the lower socio-economic categories with little disposal income. However, there are free alternatives such as house hold waste recycling centres. Additionally as the amount of money is relatively small, any impact would not be significant.”