The Council collected 5,600 Christmas trees (nearly 43 tonnes) at our 27 Christmas tree recycling drop-off points this year. This is slightly more than last year trees and the trees are sent to a composting plant where they are shredded, windrowed and turned into compost.
Over the festive season, our waste collection teams worked incredibly hard to keep Westminster clean, collecting an impressive 16,000 tonnes of waste throughout December. Even on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, crews were out on the streets collecting over 1,000 tonnes, including recycling, food waste and green waste.
After the New Year’s Eve celebrations, our teams walked an incredible 980 miles – about the distance from London to Rome – to clean the city overnight. With 140 staff working across key areas like Victoria Embankment, Westminster Bridge and Whitehall, they collected more than 29 tonnes of recyclable materials before morning. Then, on New Year’s Day, crews were back out again, clearing nearly 3 tonnes of recycling after the London Parade to make sure Westminster was shining for the start of 2026.