Bratislava starts its installation of collection points for live Christmas trees

The city, the Waste Collection and Disposal agency (OLO), the Municipal Enterprise, BUČINA EKO, IKEA and IKEA Industry will again assume responsibility for the collection and material recovery of live Christmas trees after Christmas this year. Seven hundred wooden containers will be installed across the city for the residents of Bratislava to dispose of these coniferous symbols of Christmas, which will later be transformed into bookshelves. Some of them will be given back to the city and will be used in leisure centres, primary art schools and single-parent families.

City Hall, two Bratislava city organisations, BUČINA EKO, IKEA Industry and IKEA will again participate in an initiative to make Christmas more sustainable and circular. "We launched the Christmas tree collection project two years ago and I am glad that more and more residents of Bratislava are making use of this opportunity to drop off their trees after Christmas in special collection boxes. I am pleased that we have found a use for decorated Christmas trees, which will be turned into bookcases and will go to leisure centres, primary art schools or to specific children's families. It is great to be able to continue spreading joy in this way, even after Christmas," says Mayor Vallo.

For IKEA, the Second Life for Trees project is unique from a global perspective. "The tree collection project is an example of how meaningful public-private collaboration can benefit the entire community of the city and the environment. We greatly appreciate that, through this collaboration, we will be able for the second successive year to invite the citizens of Bratislava to drop off their decorative Christmas trees in special containers after Christmas so as to give them a second chance. The collected trees will be processed and transformed into the iconic BILLY series of bookshelves, some of which will be donated back to the community. Customers will be able to buy the remaining bookshelves made from Christmas trees at IKEA Bratislava. We are thrilled about this collaboration as it supports our circular vision," adds Lucia Klečková, Manager of IKEA Bratislava.

Appropriately undecorated trees are to be placed in designated collection points, exceptionally in another predetermined place

Residents can use up to 700 containers. These are solely for the collection of duly undecorated Christmas trees, without any plastic wrappings, flowerpots or decorations. This is the only way they can be materially recovered. "Waste from the garden and mixed municipal waste do not belong in here. If residents do not have such a container in their neighbourhood, they can also dispose of the trees in the compost bin or the brown collection bin for garden bio-waste. In exceptional cases, they can be taken to the collection bins, near family houses to the glass collection points. Bratislava residents can also use the OLO Collection Yard,“ adds Martina Čechová, OLO‘s Circular Economy Manager.

Collection of Christmas trees will be organised by OLO and will take place from 4 January to 16 February 2024

Residents can access an interactive map at www.olo.sk/stromceky ↗︎ where they can locate their nearest wooden container in which they can dispose of their decorative tree. The wooden containers are made from waste wood from Bratislava Urban Forests and are reused every year. From 11 December until the end of the year, the Bratislava Municipal Enterprise and OLO will gradually install them in Bratislava's streets.

Collection of the trees will take place from 4 January to 16 February 2024. OLO will introduce extra collections for the first two weeks. If the containers become full or get damaged, residents can submit a complaint at OLO ↗︎.

Collection schedule: Mondays – Staré Mesto
Tuesdays – Ružinov, Podunajské Biskupice, Vrakuňa
Wednesdays – Nové Mesto, Rača, Vajnory
Thursdays – Dúbravka, Karlova Ves, Lamač, Devín, Devínska N. Ves, Záhorská Bystrica
Fridays – Petržalka, Jarovce, Rusovce, Čunovo

The city, together with OLO and the residents of Bratislava, plans to turn some of the collected Christmas trees into mulch, which will be distributed at a public event on 20 January in Lamač. People will be able to put the mulch they take with them around trees on their own property.

The collection and material recovery of Christmas trees is an excellent example of a local, social and circular project

Last season alone, the project's initiators managed to collect approximately 43,000 trees in Bratislava weighing 237 tonnes, which were then transformed into bookcases. Some of these recycled bookcases, filled with books from KOLO - Bratislava Reuse Centre, were donated by the project initiators to organisations dedicated to children, seniors or homeless people. The city introduced the project in 2021 and for the first two seasons the trees were used to make compost. So far, a total of approximately 110,000 live Christmas trees weighing more than 600 tonnes have been recovered.