Free drop-off for real Christmas trees in Palmy once festive season ends

Half a hectare of real Christmas trees will produce enough oxygen for 16 people to live on for a year. Photo / Brett Phibbs

You can’t throw out your Christmas tree with your roadside rubbish, but there is a place you can drop it off free.

Changes to rubbish and recycling collections in Palmerston North mean there won’t be kerbside collection of real Christmas trees.

Palmerston North City Council acting manager of resource recovery Natasha Hickmott said data had shown kerbside Christmas tree collections served only a tiny fraction of city households – less than 1%.

“However, they still required a separate truck and staff, which meant diverting resources during our busiest time of year. By focusing on regular collections, we can better manage the holiday rush, especially for recycling, which skyrockets in December and January,” she said.

“... glass, we’re looking at you.”

Hickmott said real Christmas trees could be dropped off at the Awapuni Resource Recovery Park free from Boxing Day until the end of January.

“By dropping off your tree, you’re helping us turn it into compost for our parks and reserves,” she said.

“It’s a great way to end the festive season sustainably – turning your tree into something that gives back to the community.”

Meanwhile, the collection dates and facility hours for the Christmas period are:

Christmas Day collections: If your usual collection day is Wednesday, you’ll need to put your rubbish and recycling out on Saturday, December 28 instead.

Boxing Day and New Year’s Day collections: These are going ahead as normal.

Recycling facility hours

Closed on Christmas Day.

Awapuni and Ferguson St facilities will be open on public holidays (Boxing Day, New Year’s Day and January 2):

Ferguson Street Recycling Centre: 10am – 3pm

Awapuni Resource Recovery Park: noon – 4pm