When the holidays are over, many families wonder what to do with the natural fir which has presided over the living room for weeks. In Barcelona, far from ending up in the trash or abandoned in the street, Christmas trees have a second life linked to the care of parks and gardensThe city reactivates its special device to collect them and transform them into a useful resource.
This municipal campaign has become a fixed event on Barcelona's environmental calendar. For a few days in January, the City Council sets up hundreds of collection points for ornamental trees and branches.with the aim of facilitating maximum community participation, avoiding uncivil practices and promoting a more sustainable management of plant waste.
Dates and operation of the Christmas tree collection
This year's device focuses on a very specific period: from 7 to January 17These are the days when most households take down the tree and the nativity scene, so the service adapts to the usual rhythm of the holidays and the school and work calendar.
During that ten-day period, Citizens can deposit their fir trees and ornamental branches at any of the 227 collection points which the Barcelona City Council has distributed throughout the city. This is one more point than in the previous campaign, a small increase that aims to better reach all neighborhoods.
These special points are located in the ten districts of Barcelona They are distributed throughout different neighborhoods, squares, and pedestrian areas so that no one has to travel too far. The exact location of each one This information can be found on the municipal website and in the City Council's waste search engine., a tool that indicates where to deposit each type of fraction.
The municipal cleaning and waste collection services are responsible for periodically empty these points and move the trees to the municipal nurseryDuring those days, teams pass through regularly to prevent buildup and keep the environment tidy.
Which trees are accepted and how should they be delivered?
The service is designed primarily for natural firs that have been used as Christmas trees in homes, businesses, or other spaces. However, they can also be carried branches and other plant remains used as Christmas decorationsprovided they are of plant origin and do not contain artificial elements.
One essential condition is that The trees are delivered completely free of decorations.This means removing baubles, tinsel, garlands, lights, ribbons, metal or plastic stands, and any other non-organic decorations. If these items are mixed with the plant material, They hinder the crushing process and can spoil the resulting material..
Therefore, they are not accepted. plastic trees nor synthetic structuresThese materials cannot be recycled as mulch. They must be managed through other waste channels, following municipal guidelines (recycling centers, bulky waste collection, etc.).
The City Council also insists that Do not leave trees leaning against conventional containers or abandoned on public roadsBesides creating dirt and inconvenience, this practice breaks the recycling chain and forces extra resources to be dedicated to its removal.
From tree to municipal nursery: the journey of the recycled fir tree
Once each day is over, the cleaning teams collect the specimens deposited at the designated points and They are transported to the municipal nursery in Barcelona., the center where all the plant material collected during the campaign is concentrated.
In these facilities, the trees pass through a crushing processThe resulting remains are piled up and left to rest for a certain period of time to allow for proper maturation. According to municipal technicians, Two to three months of treatment are needed to obtain a good quality mulch, suitable for use in urban gardening.
Data from previous campaigns show the magnitude of this operation. In the last year, 10.268 Christmas trees were collected in the city.which became approximately 195 cubic meters of crushed materialAll of that volume is exclusively allocated to the maintenance of municipal green spaces.
This process, although it may seem simple, It is part of the City Council's circular economy strategyA seasonal waste product, such as Christmas trees, is transformed into a valuable resource that returns to the urban environment in the form of soil and vegetation improvement.
What is plant mulch and how is it used in Barcelona?
The final product of recycling fir trees and ornamental branches is the Plant-based mulching, also known as mulchingIt is a layer of crushed remains that is placed on the soil of different garden areas to protect and improve the soil.
This padding has several key functions. For one thing, It helps to retain soil moisture.reducing evaporation and, consequently, the need for irrigation. On the other hand, It promotes soil aeration and improves its structureThis results in better root development and healthier plants.
In addition, mulching acts as a barrier against the appearance of weedsBy blocking light from reaching the soil, it hinders the germination of unwanted species. It also mitigates sudden temperature changes in the soil, which is especially useful during periods of intense heat or cold.
In Barcelona, this material is applied both inside larger parks and gardens as in small urban flowerbeds located on public roadsIt is used primarily in areas of shrubs, perennial plants and groups of rose busheswhere mulching helps to keep the ground in better condition throughout the year.
Municipal services perform periodic additions of padding in these spaces, not just right after the Christmas season. This ensures that the benefits of the material are maintained over time and that the recycled plant waste is continuously integrated into the management of the gardens.
Environmental impact and benefits for the city
Beyond logistics and collection data, the Christmas tree campaign has a positive environmental impact on several frontsFirstly, it prevents thousands of specimens from ending up abandoned on sidewalks, squares or green areas without control, which would generate cleaning and coexistence problems.
Secondly, by using this material as resource for the maintenance of parks and gardensThis reduces the need to purchase other products from external sources, with the resulting economic savings and reduction of emissions associated with their transport and manufacture.
The initiative also contributes to to raise awareness among the population about the importance of properly separating waste and to think about the complete cycle of the products we use, even in elements so closely linked to the holidays as the Christmas tree.
For the City Council, this campaign has become a annual action integrated into its sustainability and circular economy policyTransforming a specific waste product into a resource of direct use to the city fits in with other waste management, water conservation and urban green space improvement measures that are being promoted at the local level.
Thus, every January, the fir trees that have decorated Barcelona homes for a few weeks They end up becoming part of the landscape of parks, gardens and small landscaped areasParticipating in the collection not only solves what to do with the tree after the holidays; it is also a simple gesture with which citizens contribute to caring for the urban environment and closing the circle of this natural resource.
