Christmas Tree Recycling – Ashford 2026

Recycle your Christmas tree and support Pilgrims Hospices! 

Now in its 14th year, our Christmas Tree Recycling scheme makes it easy to say farewell to your festive fir while giving back to your community. Every tree recycled helps us raise vital funds to care for patients and families living with life-limiting illness.

This special eco-friendly campaign offers doorstep collections across the Ashford Borough Council area, recycling your tree has never been easier!

How the Tree Recycling Campaign Works

1. Book your tree for collection online by 8am on Monday 5th January 2026.
Fill out our simple form and register your tree in exchange for a donation of your choice. Every donation, big or small, helps support patients and families across east Kent. 

2. Pop your tree outside your property by 07:30am on Saturday 10th January.
Make sure it’s clearly visible and easily accessible for our team of volunteers.

3. ‘Leaf’ the hard work to us!
Our volunteers will collect your tree between 7:30am on Saturday 10th January and 4:00pm on Sunday 11th January. 

Once collected, your tree is chipped at our hospice sites. Some chippings are used for local composting, while others return to our hospice gardens, creating peaceful outdoor spaces for patients and families.

By giving what you can, you’re helping us recycle thousands of trees and support the next family who needs our care. Last year, the campaign raised over £78,000 and recycled 4,200+ trees across Ashford, Canterbury, and Thanet – all thanks to our generous community.

Thank you for your support.

Important Information for Collections

To help our volunteers collect your tree safely and smoothly, please keep the following in mind:

• Decorations off, please! Make sure your tree is free of decorations and removed from any pots or stands. Any decorations, stands or pots will be left behind, as they can’t be recycled with the trees. 

• Tree size: Maximum 8ft tall/4ft wide. If your tree is bigger, please cut it into smaller, manageable pieces (ideally in half), please do not cut the tree into lots of little pieces. 

• Number of trees: We can collect up to 2 trees per household, which you must state on the form when booking. If your household has more than 2 trees, please contact [email protected] prior to 5th January to ensure we are aware of the additional trees; otherwise any extra trees will be left behind. This is due to the complex logistics and vehicle capacity for route planning. 

• Easy to find: Leave your tree in a visible and accessible spot outside your property by 7:30am on collection day. Please don’t block public access.

• Clear directions: Give precise location details when booking. Using a What3Words location really helps our volunteers find your tree quickly.

• Terms & Conditions: You can read the full details here for more information.

Our volunteers will be working hard to collect hundreds of trees over the weekend, so please ensure instructions are accurate. We cannot return to collect trees that are not accessible or cannot be located.

Tree recycling is operated as a free service by Pilgrims Hospices. Please show your appreciation by giving generously to support Pilgrims Hospices to be there for the next family who needs our specialist care and support, and be part of a special environmentally friendly campaign. 

How your donation could help

This Christmas, your kind support could help local people who are living with a life-limiting illness.

• £12 could pay for a patient’s Christmas dinner.
• £15 could give a complementary therapy session to a patient, relieving anxiety.
• £20 could provide for a physiotherapy session to help a patient stay active and enjoy festive games with their family on Christmas day.
• £30 could enable our Community Team to hold a consultation with a patient in their own home.
• £45 could pay for one-on-one counselling for someone struggling to cope with the loss of a loved one this festive season.
• £100 could allow our community nurses to continue making home visits, ensuring that patients can spend Christmas at home with family and friends.

Thank you! 

Thank you for supporting Pilgrims Hospices. By recycling your Christmas tree, you are not only helping the environment but also ensuring that we can continue providing essential care for people in east Kent who are living with incurable illness. 

Special thanks go to  Ashford Borough Council, Kent County Council and FCC Environment for their support of this campaign.

Do you live outside the Ashford Borough Council Area?

If you’re not within the collection zone, you can still support Pilgrims Hospices by bringing your tree to our Drop-off Station at Macknade, Faversham (ME13 8XF):

• Saturday 10th January 2026 (9:00am – 4:00pm)
• Sunday 11th January 2026 (10:00am – 4:00pm)

Our volunteers will be on hand to help, and your donation will ensure that every tree recycled continues to fund hospice care in your community.

Register for our drop off service here!