THE decorations will be down, or coming down – so now is the time to think about recycling your Christmas tree.

Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has allocated 21 sites across the borough for Christmas trees to be taken from tomorrow until January 26.

Each year eight million real Christmas trees are thrown away in the UK. But if trees are recycled, they can be transformed into ProGrow soil conditioner and wood chippings, which will be used by the borough council on the town’s parks.

Councillor Robert Donnell, cabinet member for environment, said: “After all the festivities are over, it can be a real pain to dispose of the tree. But by taking it to one of the locations across the borough, it can then be turned into soil conditioner which will help our gardens to bloom.”

The Christmas tree drop-off points are:

Basingstoke Town Centre - Crossborough Hill car park, War Memorial Park and Basingstoke Homebase, Winchester Road 

Brighton Hill - Sports pavilion, Gershwin Road

Burghclere - Sports club car park, Harts Lane

Eastrop - Boat House car park, Eastrop Park

Hatch Warren - Community Centre, Long Cross Lane

Headley - Darling Buds of May, Newbury Road

Kingsclere - Fieldgate Centre

Lasham - Avenue Nurseries Garden Centre, The Avenue

North Waltham - Wyevale Garden Centre

Oakley - Oakley Lane

Oakridge - Upper Sherborne Road playing fields

Overton - Overton Hill car park

Pamber End - Elm Park Garden Centre, Aldermaston Road

Popley - Carpenters Down open space

Sherfield-on-Loddon - Wyevale Garden Centre

Silchester - The Pavilion car park

South Ham - Russell Howard car park

Tadley - Hangar Road

Whitchurch - Winchester Road car park

Winklebury - Winklebury Way playing field