‘Rent your Christmas tree’ to prune waste

People are being given the chance to “rent” their Christmas trees under a scheme that aims to reduce the number of cut trees which are simply thrown away.

The hire scheme provides people with a pruned and potted Christmas tree for the festive period, before it is collected in the new year and replanted to be rented out the following Christmas.

Once the tree grows too big for the home it will be planted out in sites including schools and nursing homes, where it will absorb a tonne of carbon, according to the business behind the scheme, the Little Tree Company.

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Figures suggest some six million real Christmas trees are dumped after the festive season each year, only 10 per cent of which are recycled for composting and wood chipping with the rest ending up in landfill.

The tree rental business is being backed by the Ideal Home Show at Christmas next month, where people will be able to reserve their own trees from one of three different species.

Lee Newton, managing director of the Ideal Home Show at Christmas, said: “It is always a bit heartbreaking to see bare bristled Christmas trees dumped and discarded along the streets every January, so we are proud to be able to offer our visitors an alternative way of purchasing and recycling their Christmas trees this year.”

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