THOUSANDS of pounds were raised as residents across the district donated their Christmas trees to charity.

Braintree Council has thanked residents for recycling their real Christmas trees.

When the 2022 festive season finished, residents could recycle their trees to do their bit to help the environment.

The council visited ten locations across the district so residents could bring their trees along to be recycled and shredded into chippings, to be reused as a mulch for shrub beds in parks and woodlands. 

On the day, residents dropped off 132 trees in total.

Braintree Council environment boss Wendy Schmitt said: “It is encouraging to see that residents are keen to address climate change by taking individual steps, which when added together will contribute towards making a bigger impact on the issue of climate change.”

Mid Essex charity Farleigh Hospice also collected 485 trees from postcodes within the Braintree district, which contributed £7,484 to its cause.

In total Farleigh collected 2,200 trees from across mid Essex and raised £42,000.

The charity has thanked everyone for their support.

Braintree Council operations boss Richard van Dulken added: “In these times of financial hardship that many people are facing, it’s heart-warming to see people are willing to support such a good cause by donating to charity and their eagerness to recycle or reuse their Christmas trees.

“On behalf of Braintree District Council, I would like to thank everyone for their support and kindness.”