A record 9,000 Christmas trees have been collected from environmentally conscious Reigate and Banstead residents for recycling into compost. The collected trees weighed in at over 80 tonnes.

Councillor Julian Ellacott, executive member fore Environment, said: “This year has seen the biggest collection of Christmas trees to date. In fact, we are pleased to say that we are continuing to see an increase in all recyclables. Recycling rates in Reigate and Banstead have now reached 40 per cent.

“I would like to reassure residents that all the borough’s recycled materials are treated, disposed and reused in a sustainable manner."

Unwanted Christmas trees were collected by a special crew and taken to KPS Composting Services in Isfield, West Sussex, who recycle the borough’s garden waste into compost.

Glass bottles and jars and plastic bottles deposited at recycling banks are remanufactured into new glass products and new plastic bottles. Paper and card is recycled to make new cardboard packaging. Food and drink cans are sold for use in steel tin plate manufacturing and foil is recycled into new aluminium products.

Paper and cardboard is bulked at the Earlswood Depot and then transported to Kemsley Mill in Sittingbourne, Kent. The millmanufactures the material into new cardboard packaging.

Glass bottles and jars are transported to Surrey Waste Management Limited (SWML), Surrey. The colour-separated glass is then delivered to Three United Glass in Harlow, Essex, for remanufacturing into new glass products.

Mixed cans (food and drink) are bulked at Earlswood and transported to Viridor Resource Management in Kent. Steel and aluminium cans are sent to European Metal Recycling (EMR) in Canning Town, London, for onward shipment to Corus or AMG Resources in South Wales. The steel, tin and aluminium are separated and sold back to the relevant markets such as steel tin plate manufacturing.

Plastic bottles are bulked at Earlswood Depot and then transported to Viridor Resource Management in Kent. Bottles are hand sorted into their different polymer types and baled for recycling into new bottles. Seventy per cent are kept within the UK market, 15 per cent are sent to the European market and 15 per cent are sent to the Far East.