How to dispose of a Christmas Tree for Free in London

1. Council collection 

Most London councils offer residents a kerbside Christmas tree collection service, usually on their normal bin collection day. Below are the details of each collection service by borough.

Note - if you are a business, council collections normally don’t apply to you and you’ll have to arrange your own disposal method.

 

Borough	Kerbside Christmas tree collection details
Barking & Dagenham	NA - don’t offer service
Barnet	Jan 6 - Feb 1: please cut tree in half and leave out on bin day
Bexley	From Jan 11: cut in half and leave out on bin day, but will only be collected from properties which are part of garden waste service
Brent	NA - don’t offer service
Bromley	N/A - don’t offer service
Camden	N/A - don’t offer service
Croydon	From 18 Jan: collecting from kerbside properties
City of London	NA - don’t offer service
Ealing	Jan 2 - 31: Leave on the front edge of the property, collected on the same day as your normal bin collection
Enfield	Residents receiving garden recycling collection can leave their tree out for collection with their food waste.  If the tree is taller then 6ft it needs to be cut into smaller pieces
Greenwich	Leave in front of your property before 6am, collected as part of weekly collection
Hackney	Jan 4 - 15 Jan: leave outside on your rubbish & recycling day
Hammersmith & Fulham	Jan 4 - 17: Put your tree out for collection before 7am on your regular collection day
Haringey	Leave kerbside and cut your tree into smaller pieces (max length 1 metre).
Harrow	N/A - don’t offer service.
Havering	N/A - don’t offer service.
Hillingdon	Christmas trees can be recycled for free as part of the weekly garden waste collection service.
Hounslow	Jan 7 - 17: Kerbside collection
Islington	Kerbside collections on normal recycling day until Jan 21
Kensington and Chelsea	Jan 2 - 17: Trees can be collected on your normal bin day.
Kingston Upon Thames	Jan 13 - 24: Kerbside collection on your bin collection day.
Lambeth	Kerbside collection throughout January / in communal bin area if you live in a flat
Lewisham	N/A - don’t offer service
Merton	Jan 13 - 27: Trees can be collected kerbside
Newham	Collected with green waste collection
Redbridge	Leave outside for kerbside collection by 7am on Jan 13, it should then be collected between then and Jan 24
Richmond upon Thames	Jan 6 - 17: Collected on your normal garden waste collection day
Southwark	Collected as part of your usual bin collection.  Bin collection dates here
Sutton	Jan 13 - 27: Kerbside/communal bin area collections
Tower Hamlets	Jan 6 - 20: Kerbside collection on food/garden waste collection day
Waltham Forest	Left outside property on brown bin collection day from 4 Jan
Wandsworth	Jan 4 - 15: Collected kerbside on normal refuse & recycling days.
Westminster	N/A - don’t offer service.

 

2. Take to Council drop off point

If your council doesn’t offer a kerbside collection service or you don’t fancy waiting for your council to pick up your Christmas tree, you can take it to a council drop off point yourself. Drop off points are located at your local tip / civic amenity site and also at various temporary locations listed below. 

Borough	Drop off points
Barking & Dagenham	South Park Drive entrance of Barking car park, the West Road Entrance of St Chads car park or the Bull Lane entrance Central Park in Dagenham.   Dates: Jan 5 Barking car park, Jan 8 St Chads or Jan 11 Central Park.
Barnet	Summers Lane recycling centre in North Finchley.
Bexley	Thames Road recycling centre in Crayford and Maidstone Road recycling centre in Foots Cray.
Brent	Drop off points, Dec 27 - Jan 10.
Bromley	Drop off points: Norman Park, Salt Depot, St Paul’s Cray (all Jan 11).  Unicorn Primary School, Charles Darwin School (both Jan 12).
Camden	Drop off points.
Croydon	Drop off points.
City of London	Can be taken to Barbican estate in the following locations on Mondays and Thursdays: Bunyan Court; Cromwell Tower; Thomas Moore House; Willoughby House and Lauderdale.
Ealing	Drop off points.
Enfield	Drop off points.
Greenwich	No drop off points.
Hackney	Millfields Depot fron Jan 4 to Jan 31.
Hammersmith & Fulham	Drop off points.
Haringey	Drop off points.
Harrow	Drop off point at Harrow Recycling Centre.
Havering	Drop off point at Gidea Park Sports Ground, Main Road, Romford on 9 Jan between 10am-2pm or taken to Gerpins Lane Reuse and Recycling Centre in Upminster.
Hillingdon	Drop off points are Harefield Civic Amenity Site and West Drayton waste facility.
Hounslow	Drop off points.
Islington	Drop off points here between Jan 2 - Jan 21.
Kensington and Chelsea	Drop off points here Jan 2-19.
Kingston Upon Thames	Drop off point at Re-use and Recycling Centre in Chapel Mill Road.
Lambeth	Drop off point at recycling sites: Streatham Common, Clapham Common and Lambeth Re-use and Recycling Centre.
Lewisham	Drop off points here from Jan 2-28.
Merton	Drop off point at Morden Reuse and recycling Centre.
Newham	Drop off point at Jenkins Lane re-use and recycling centre.
Redbridge	Drop off point at ELWA refuse and recycling centre.
Richmond upon Thames	Drop off points here.
Southwark	Drop off point at Reuse and Recycling centre but be aware you’ll need to book a permit first (it’s free).
Sutton	Drop off point at Kimpton Park Way, Household Reuse and Recycling Centre
Tower Hamlets	No drop off points.
Waltham Forest	Drop off points at recycling centres in Leyton, Chingford or Walthamstow.
Wandsworth	No drop off points.
Westminster	26 recycling points here, last day to drop off is Jan 12.

3. Disposal at Christmas tree retailers

A few London Christmas tree sellers offer a disposal and recycling service:

• Camden Garden Centre - receives old trees for free in its car park from 2nd-10th Jan
• Boma Garden Centre receives old trees for free in its car park from 2nd - 16th Jan
• Clickmas Trees - will collect an old tree for £12.50 from 1st  - 10th Jan

For completeness, we have included the biggest Christmas tree retailer, Pines & Needles, but as you can see their rates are expensive, so we doubt you’ll be using them...

• Pines and Needles (and The Christmas Forest) offer a collection service. Prices start at £30.95 and go up to £65!

 

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