Christmas Tree Recycling – Canterbury 2024

Recycling your Christmas tree and supporting local hospice care in east Kent.

Collections are currently taking place. All collections are carried out over Friday, Saturday and Sunday and there are no pre-booked days. Our volunteers are working hard to collect more than 2,000 trees, over more than 50 routes. We will get to your property and will leave you a note if your tree can’t be found. If your tree hasn’t been collected by 2p.m on Sunday, please call the number at the bottom of this page for more information. The team may still be carrying out rounds and your collection might be on our last round that day. 

However, please note: that if your tree isn’t out when we come by, we may not be able to call a second time due to the complex route planning, logistics and volunteers time, including limited daylight hours.

Back for its 3rd year, residents in the Canterbury City Council area can register their real Christmas trees for collection by our team of Pilgrims volunteers, or drop off at our Faversham recycling point, in return for a chosen donation.

We will be collecting in the following areas between  Friday 5th – Monday 8th January 2024:

• Canterbury
• Sturry
• Chartham
• Bridge
• Herne Bay
• Chestfield
• Whitstable
• Seasalter
• Surrounding villages within the Canterbury City Council area

Check whether your address is in the Canterbury City Council area here!

Register and donate by midnight on Monday 1st January 2024, and doorstep collections will take place between Friday 5th and Monday 8th January 2024.

Registration for tree collections in the Canterbury City Council area has now closed. No late registrations can be accepted.

Pilgrims volunteers will be collecting trees on specially-planned routes from households in Canterbury, Herne Bay, Whitstable and the surrounding villages. Once booked, the Pilgrims team will email you to confirm your registration, and in the days prior to the collection with instructions for your tree.

Faversham Drop-off Recycling Station 

If you live outside of the Canterbury City Council area, you can still support Pilgrims Hospices and recycle your real Christmas tree. You can bring your tree to our designated drop-off station at Macknade, Faversham, ME13 8XF on Saturday 6th (9:00 – 16:00) and Sunday 7th (10:00 – 16:00) January 2024.

Registration has now closed. No late registrations can be accepted.

When it comes to saying farewell to your festive fir, Pilgrims volunteers will do all the hard work for you, and in turn, you will be helping to support the vital end-of-life care of local people through your donations, thank you.

The Tree Recycling doorstep collections are returning to Canterbury, Herne Bay, Whitstable and the surrounding villages this festive season and we hope our community supports their local hospice by donating and booking their tree in for collection. Or, if they live outside of the Canterbury City Council area, then by recycling their real tree at our drop-off station at Macknade in Faversham.

Rachael Edmed, Pilgrims Hospices Senior Community Fundraiser

Registration

Registration for tree collections in the Canterbury City Council area has now closed. No late registrations can be accepted.

You must register your tree for collection by midnight on Monday 1st January 2024. This is to allow our team to carefully plan the collection routes. No late bookings can be accepted.

Please note:

• Collections will take place between Friday 5th and Monday 8th January 2024 from 7:30am.
• All trees must be left in a clearly visible place at your property, and must be easily and safely accessible for our team. We cannot accept responsibility for collecting your tree without accurate instructions and we cannot return to collect trees which could not be easily found by our crews.
• Our volunteer tree collectors will be working hard to collect hundreds of trees across the weekend. So, when booking, please give an accurate description of the location where the tree will be left at your property, including a What3Words location.
• Any trees over 8ft tall or 4ft wide must be chopped ideally in half or into reasonably-sized pieces in advance of collection. Larger trees will not be collected due to vehicle capacity restrictions.
• Please let us know when booking if you have more than one tree (maximum of 2 trees per household).
• Trees with decorations, in bases or pots will not be collected, as these cannot be recycled with the trees. Please make sure only the tree is left out for collection. Trees must be left at the exterior of the front of your property. Please do not block public access.

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.

Check whether your address is in the Canterbury City Council area via this map

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.

How are the Christmas trees recycled and how is the money raised?

The last Christmas tree recycling campaign raised over £57,000 to support the vital care of patients facing incurable illness in east Kent, with more than 3,150 real Christmas trees collected in Canterbury, Thanet and Ashford. We are only able to raise this through our community giving generously when registering online.

Once your tree has been collected, it is taken to a local Household Waste and Recycling Centre, with the support of Kent County Council and FCC Environment. From there, they are taken to specialist recycling farms at Blaise Farm in West Malling and Hope Farm in Capel-le-Ferne. They are then composted within a covered building system and turned into two grades of compost, a 20mm grade used for agricultural purposes and a 10mm grade used as a soil improver for general composting and landscaping uses within the local area. What’s even better is that, whilst helping to support the charity, you will be reducing your environmental impact too. Some of our trees are also chipped and used within hospice grounds, or for composts locally. So, as you can see, your tree’s onward journey is far more valuable than just being put out after Christmas.

Companies pledge support

Special thanks to our partners Kent County Council and FCC Environment, and Canterbury City Council for supporting the initiative.

Thank you so much for your support

Every generous donation from our amazing community helps to make sure we can be there for the next family who needs us.

If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with a life-limiting illness, find out about the full range of services Pilgrims can offer.

Why not embrace the spirit of Christmas even more with our other festive fundraising activities:

• Santas on the Run!: Choose from a 3k, 5k, or (NEW) 10k challenge and dash your way along Herne Bay’s scenic seafront with hundreds of fellow Santas in aid of a good Claus.