When the festive period draws to a close, the simplest, greenest and most charitable way for local residents to get rid of their real Christmas tree is to have it collected and recycled – all thanks to a local charity.

For the third year in a row, the Hospice of the Good Shepherd is running a Christmas Tree Collection in partnership with Just Helping for anyone with a CH1, CH2, CH3, CH4 CH65 & CH66 postcode.

This year, they have also been supported by SP Energy, UAS Ltd and Ellesmere Port Lions.

The Hospice of the Good Shepherd is hoping to collect over 1,000 Christmas trees and raise £9,000 for patient care.

Cabinet member for environment and deputy mayor of Ellesmere Port Cllr Karen Shore says: “I fully support this initiative as this will benefit both the local environment and the fantastic work delivered by the hospice.”

Chief executive of Hospice of the Good Shepherd Margaret Wright said: “We are lucky to have a very active team of volunteers at the Hospice of the Good Shepherd and the collection and recycling of Christmas trees in January will be a very welcome service for local people.

“The aim is to save you the time and energy of trying to find somewhere to take your tree and save you the hassle of vacuuming all those needles from your car.

“We welcome your donations and thank you in advance for your support.”

Residents can register online at www.charityxmastreecollection.com and make a donation before Saturday, January 6 to arrange the disposal, which will take place between Monday, January 8 to Thursday, January 11.

The Hospice of the Good Shepherd needs £4 million each year to continue to provide its vital services.

More than 75 per cent of this is raised thanks to the generosity of the community through gifts left in people’s wills, general donations, events and fundraising campaigns like the Christmas tree collection and recycling service.