Fresh green Christmas trees bring festive cheer on dark winter days. But they lose their appeal as the needles fall out and they turn brown. This is where Net.Brussel steps in.
Starting from today, Monday 5 January, until Friday, 16 January, Brussels residents can have their Christmas trees collected by the region’s waste management agency.
The agency responsible for waste collection and street cleaning in the Brussels-Capital Region will collect Christmas trees once a week. Residents should place their trees along the pavement in front of their homes on the scheduled garden waste collection day. This can be checked on the collection calendar.
It is important to make sure the tree is put out on the right day – those who leave it outside on the wrong day in theory risk a fine.
Pots and decorations must be removed, though wooden bases can stay, and the trees must not obstruct pedestrian access.
Most collected trees will be sent to Brussels-Compost, the regional composting facility. There, the trees are shredded and left to decompose into nutrient-rich compost within six months, which is used to improve soil fertility.
Net.Brussel stress that a Christmas tree must be completely 'dismantled' for collection. This means it must no longer be decorated – "Christmas baubles are not green waste" – and no longer in a stand. The wooden cross at the base of the trunk can remain attached.
The collection service is only for 'real' Christmas trees. Net.Brussel handles the recycling of Christmas trees, which are turned into compost. Real Christmas trees can also be taken to the container park.
Residents are encouraged to reuse artificial trees or, if disposal is necessary, take them to a Recypark facility. Plastic Christmas trees belong in the bulky household waste. Once a year, this type of waste can be collected for free, but this has to be requested.
