YOU’VE only just put your Christmas tree up, but have you thought about what you’ll do with it once you’ve taken it down?

Weldmar Hospicecare’s Treecycle scheme will return next month – and it’s been extended to Bridport and Beaminster.

Last year, Weldmar piloted the Christmas tree collection scheme in Dorchester and Weymouth, raising more than £4,500 for the charity.

This year, the scheme will be returning and widening the collection areas.

Dorset Waste Partnership no longer collects real Christmas trees at the kerbside. For a suggested donation of £10, Weldmar volunteers will collect your tree from outside your front door, saving you the hassle of having to chop it up for garden waste or dispose of it yourself.

The Christmas tree collections will be taking place on:

n Saturday, January 5 – Beaminster, Bridport and Sherborne

n Sunday, January 6 – in Dorchester, Weymouth, Portland

The donations raised from the scheme will help patients and their families across Dorset.

Clair Walker, major events fundraiser, said: “The scheme proved to be a great success last year and it was a fun weekend of hard yet rewarding work. We hope that by providing this service, it will make the festive clear-up easier for residents as well as raise vital funds for Weldmar. Christmas can be a difficult time for our patients and their families but the support from our community will enable us to continue providing our care this Christmas time and all year round.”

Volunteers from Acorn to Oak Tree Services, Dorset County Council and Magna Housing will be helping again with collections this year – but the scheme urgently needs more helpers.

If you are an individual or a business who might like to support the scheme with volunteers, sponsorship or vehicles, contact Clair on 01305 261800 or email fundraising@weld-hospice.org.uk.

Tree collection registrations are now open and you can register online at weld-hospice.org.uk/trees or by calling 01305 261800.