Bedford Borough Council is encouraging residents to recycle their real Christmas trees responsibly this winter, using the Borough’s free drop‑off points. Recycling trees in this way supports Bedford Borough’s efforts to keep neighbourhoods free from fly-tipping and improve the local environment.
From Tuesday, 30 December 2025 to Friday, 9 January 2026, residents can bring their tree to one of the following locations, where trees will be collected and taken away for composting:
- Hillgrounds Road, Kempston (opposite the shops near Hartwell Drive)
- Jubilee Park, Bedford (opposite North Lodge, Canvin Way)
- Milton Ernest Garden Centre, Radwell Road, off the A6
- Mowsbury Park Car Park, Bedford, Kimbolton Road (be aware this has changed from the other car park which was used last year)
- Podington Garden Centre, High Street, Podington
- Roxton Garden Centre, A421 near A1 Black Cat roundabout
- Seasons Garden Centre, Bedford Road, Wixams / Wilstead
- Bedford Household Waste Recycling Centre, Barkers Lane.
All real Christmas trees can be left in the clearly signed designated areas at these sites and will then be taken for composting, helping to turn festive waste into a useful resource. Trees cannot be shredded on site, so wood chips will not be available for the public. The trees are taken to be composted at a local site in Ravensden near Bedford, operated by Growing Beds Ltd.
These sites are for real Christmas trees only and cannot accept artificial trees or other waste. All decorations, lights, tinsel, stands, pots and any other containers must be removed before leaving a tree at one of the drop‑off points so that it can be composted without contamination.
Tom Bliss, Operations and Sales Manager at Growing Beds Recycling Services Ltd, said, “We work hard to turn garden waste from Bedford Borough Council into a valuable composted soil improver that conforms to BSI PAS100. For us to achieve this, the waste we receive must be entirely free from contamination of any kind. All we want is the tree, wood and pine needles, that’s it. We would like to wish all Bedford Borough residents a very happy Christmas and all the best for 2026!”
Cllr Nicola Gribble, Portfolio Holder for Environment, said: “Real Christmas trees are a wonderful part of the festive season, and recycling them properly helps keep our streets tidy and supports our commitment to a cleaner, greener Borough. Whether you drop your tree at one of our eight recycling sites between 30 December and 9 January, or cut it up and place it in your green‑lidded bin ready for collections to resume on 1 March, you’ll be making a real difference. And please remember that your householder duty of care still applies if a charity or other organisation collects your tree for you, so always make sure they are disposing of it responsibly and in line with the law.”
Residents can also choose to cut up their real Christmas tree and place it in their green‑lidded garden waste bin, provided that no piece of the trunk is wider than 11cm, roughly the length of the longer side of a credit card. Garden waste collections restart from 1 March 2026, so trees stored in this way will be collected and composted as part of the routine service.
The Council is reminding residents of their legal householder waste duty of care, which means everyone must make sure their waste is disposed of correctly and only passed to authorised waste carriers. This duty applies to all household waste, including real Christmas trees, and still applies when a charity or other organisation offers to collect trees or other waste from homes. Residents are urged to check that anyone collecting their tree is properly registered and will dispose of it safely and legally. Further information is available at www.bedford.gov.uk/environmental-issues/keeping-bedford-borough-clean/householder-waste-duty-care