Gloucestershire residents can get the new year off to a good start by recycling their Christmas tree with Sue Ryder, through its Treecycling Gloucestershire initiative.
The national healthcare and bereavement charity — which runs Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice, the only in-patient palliative care unit in the county — is collecting Christmas trees in selected GL postcodes between Monday 13 and Friday 17 January 2025, in exchange for a suggested donation.
Its team will collect the trees direct from your front door, garden or driveway, offering a convenient and environmentally friendly way to dispose of your Christmas tree to stop it ending up in landfill.
Real Christmas trees are completely recyclable, so every tree that's collected will be turned into compost or wood chippings that can be used in parks, gardens and landscaping projects, or turned into renewable biofuel.
The money donated will go towards helping Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice provide free palliative care for local people with life-limiting illnesses and bereavement support to their families, including Grief Kind Spaces in Gloucester and Cheltenham.
Alysia Cameron-Price, community fundraising manager at Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice, said: 'Last year our Christmas Treecycling service across the UK kept 7,199 trees out of landfill, helping to reduce the impact on the environment.
'The initiative also raised over £119,000 for Sue Ryder – enough to fund over 4,000 hours of expert and compassionate palliative care from our nurses, so that fewer patients need face death alone.
'By choosing to recycle your real tree with an optional donation to Sue Ryder, your Christmas tree could become the gift of expert care and support for seriously ill people and their loved ones.'
This year's Treecycling Gloucestershire scheme is once again supported by Gloucestershire-based Greenway Tree Care and Landscaping and JB Event Hire.
Anyone wanting to book a collection from Treecycling Gloucestershire can do so until Wednesday 8 January 2025.
For more information, or to book a collection, visit sueryder.org/treeglos.
For any queries, contact the Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court Hospice fundraising team on (01242) 246270 or by emailing leckhampton.fundraising@sueryder.org.
