Christmas tree recycling raises record sums

Despite being disrupted by snow and ice, charities across the West Midlands have raised hundreds of thousands of pounds through Christmas tree recycling schemes.

The initiatives see charity volunteers offer kerbside collections of trees in return for suggested donations. Trees are then shredded to make biomass and create compost or chippings.

Though collections were held up by Storm Goretti earlier this month, many charities reported bumper years for donations and thanked their supporters.

Birmingham Hospice said its 2026 Treecycling run had been its most successful to date, with more than 6,200 residents raising a total of £153,000.

Project lead Roisin Mooney said: "This year brought extra challenges due to Storm Goretti and snow and icy conditions, but thanks [to] the dedication of our 250 volunteers, over 7,000 trees were collected."

Grace Kelly Childhood Cancer Trust in Worcester also said it had seen its biggest collection year yet, picking up 956 trees and raising more than £19,350 - a 57% increase on the previous year.

"That fantastic amount could fund over 250 one-to-one sessions for a child with one of our Family Support Team," spokesperson Kirsty Murray said.

"Our amazing team of volunteers battled weather warnings for snow, ice, rain and flooding and faced breakdowns, but we simply could not have done this without them."

Chippings from some of the recycled trees were used in pathways, including around enclosures at West Midlands Safari Park, she added.

Primrose Hospice in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, agreed 2026 was already a record-breaker, reporting that 40 volunteers had collected more than £17.5k from gathering 1,200 trees.

Fundraiser Hannah Isaac said: "It is a great way for people within the local community to support their local hospice [while] also ticking off one of the most inconvenient jobs of the year."

Meanwhile, St Giles Hospice, Lichfield, said it raised more than £100,000, also its most successful year yet.

Compton Care in Wolverhampton said it had raised a "tree-mendous" £25,000 from its scheme as it went into the last weekend of collections, thanking volunteers from a number of organisations who picked up 1,300 trees.

In Staffordshire, the Dougie Mac Hospice's TreeCycle collection made more than £36,5000, which will go towards specialist care for people with life-limiting conditions.

Jayne Dono from the charity said of volunteers and supporters: "We simply couldn't have done it without them."

Meanwhile, Katharine House Hospice, in Stafford, made £17,000 from picking up about 780 trees.

"The incredible support from our community for this fundraising initiative helps us meet the £12,000 it costs each day to keep our vital services running," said community and events fundraiser Lyndsey Howard.

Myton Hospice and Pass the Smile for Ben Crowther said sums raised in Warwickshire had not yet been counted but were expected to exceed the £62,000 made last year.

Scott Crowther said he was delighted by the success of the campaign, with proceeds going towards research into "better, kinder, targeted" childhood cancer treatments in memory of his son Ben.

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