This is how you can recycle your Christmas tree and help a Stroud-based charity
Published: Monday, 10 December, 2018
Even if you haven’t bought your Christmas tree from a local shop yet you can already make plans to recycle it after the festive period and help a Stroud-based Gloucestershire charity at the same time.
Registrations are now open for a scheme which will benefit the environment, and hospice care charity Longfield, based in the Stroud district.
Money raised from the doorstep collection scheme, now in its second year, will help support people with life limiting illnesses.
Every year the Minchinhampton-based charity provides free-of-charge support and care to more than 700 people living with life limiting illnesses across the county. Volunteers who have signed up to the JustHelping scheme will pick up unwanted trees in return for a donation to help Longfield continue its care.
Ali Russell, Chief Executive at Longfield, said:
"By donating your tree to Longfield, you are saving yourself a journey to the recycling centre and supporting people with life-limiting illnesses and their families. All of our services are provided free of charge and we can only do that with the community’s generous support."
The suggested minimum donation is £5. Collections are available in areas including Stroud, Dursley, Wotton-under-Edge, and Cirencester.
Longfield, which is the largest hospice-at-home provider in the county, hopes to shred 2,000 trees and volunteers who can help are welcome. The chippings will be used in the charity’s garden, or sold with proceeds going to the hospice.
Councillor Simon Pickering, chair of Stroud District Council’s environment committee said:
"The most sustainable way to enjoy a tree at Christmas is to invest in a potted one to put out in your garden in January and reuse year after year. However for those residents who have a cut tree, Longfield’s service is the best and easiest way to ensure they are recycled.
"As well as helping the environment, the scheme offers the added bonus of supporting a worthwhile cause."
Collections can be made from homes, businesses, schools, pubs and hotels, and must be registered on or before 6pm on Sunday 6th January.