Thank you for recycling a record number of real Christmas trees

This year, more than 212 tonnes of real Christmas trees, equivalent to around 13,000 trees, were recycled, marking the highest total ever recorded.

Every tree collected has been composted and turned into agricultural fertiliser, supporting our commitment to sustainability and protecting the environment.

To make recycling easier than ever, Wandsworth Council opened a record number of drop‑off sites in December and launched home collections in January.

Collection crews also responded to 325 reports of abandoned trees, ensuring they were swiftly removed from public spaces to keep streets clean and accessible.

Paul White, Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “Thank you to everyone who used our free real Christmas tree recycling service this year.

“Your efforts have helped divert 212 tonnes of composted trees back into the environment, a huge achievement you should be proud of.”

Recycling up 25%

Wandsworth’s recycling rate has increased by 25% thanks to residents’ hard work and the Cleaner Borough Plan, the biggest improvement the borough has ever seen.

Thanks to service upgrades that make recycling simpler and easier, the council now collects the equivalent of one extra recycling bag for every four collected in 2022/23, amounting to more than 9,000 tonnes of additional recycling since June 2024.

Some of these improvements include:

• Guaranteed weekly rubbish and recycling collections
• Two free bulky waste collections per year for every household, with over 26,000 appointments booked to date
• Weekly food waste collections
• Free recycling sacks
• Double the number of collections every week for flats above shops in busy town centres
• Twice monthly Mega Skip Days in more areas, helping to reduce fly-tipping by 20%
• Increased total town centre cleaning
• 50 new litter bins in areas helped chosen by residents
• A new fleet of modern and environmentally friendly waste collection vehicles which run on cooking oil, cutting carbon emissions by 90%
• New recycling enclosures on housing estates to make bin areas tidier and make it easier for residents to recycle