What can I do with my tree after Twelfth Night?

People around the word celebrate 6th January in many different ways.

For example, in Spanish-speaking countries it’s known as Día de los Tres Reyes – Three Kings’ Day, in memory of the Wise Men who visited the infant Christ.

In the UK, some might remember it as Epiphany, marking the official end of the Christmas season.  And that might explain why many consider it the date you ‘should’ take down your Christmas tree.  But what do you do with it then?

The good news is your local council is ready and waiting to recycle your tree!

Do remember to take your decorations off your tree before you put your tree out for recycling.  It also helps to cut your tree in half, and of course not to place trees in plastic bags, as these trees can’t be recycled

One council representative we contacted said: “All decorations need to be removed before collection or before taking them to the reuse and recycling centre (this sounds obvious but you’d be amazed how many fully decorated Christmas trees are put out for collection!)”

He concluded by reminding us “…and unfortunately we are unable to recycle man-made Christmas trees.”  Another reason to buy real trees I think!

Here’s a summary of what your local council has planned, as provided by your council:

Aberdeen City
•    Households with wheeled bins – collection from kerbside on your general refuse day between Fri 6th – Thu 19th Jan 2012.
•   Communal bins both on and off street – collections begin Fri 6th Jan for addresses on and south of Beach Boulevard, Justice Street, Castlegate, Union Street, Albyn Place, Queens Road and Skene Road; Collections start Tue 10th Jan for all addresses north of the above.
•    Households with food and garden waste bins – leave in your brown bin
•    Recycling Centres – at any of the 4 Household Waste and Recycling Centres in the city. Please visit www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/wasteaware for directions and opening times
•    More information – wasteaware@aberdeencity.gov.uk or 08456 08 09 19

Bexley Borough
•    Brown bin – leave next to your brown bin (not inside).
•    Recycling centres – bring to the recycling centres at Thames Road, Crayford DA1 5QJ and Foots Cray DA14 5HS.
•    More information – here or 020 8303 7777 or customer.services@bexley.gov.uk

Bromley Borough
•    Temporary sites – on Sat 7 Jan 2012: 11am-4pm & Sun 8 Jan 2012: 8am-noon at
•    Beckenham, Unicorn Primary School (Creswell Drive off South Eden Park Road)
•    Biggin Hill, Charles Darwin School (Jail Lane)
•    Bromley, Norman Park (Hook Farm Road entrance off Bromley Common, A21)
•    Green Street Green, Salt Depot (Shire Lane ’spur’, off Sevenoaks Road)
•    St Paul’s Cray, Cotmandene Crescent car park (off Chipperfield Road)
•    Recycling Centres – at Waldo Road and Churchfields Road reuse and recycling centres – please bring your waste disposal permit.
•    More information – csc@bromley.gov.uk or 020 8313 4557 or here

City of Edinburgh
•    Kerbside recycling for brown bins – place your Christmas tree at your kerbside on your January pick up day.  To find out your January pick up day, enter your postcode at http://www.greenboxday.co.uk/
•    Kerbside recycling for communal rubbish bins – place your tree beside your communal rubbish bin on your normal collection day from Mon 9 – Fri 20 Jan.
•    Community Recycling Centres – at any Community Recycling Centre.
•    More information – here or 0131 529 3030 or waste@edinburgh.gov.uk

East Lothian
•    Recycling Centres & brown bins – take them to a local recycling centre or by put them out beside the brown bins for collection in January.
•    Collection - You can also call 01875 824 305 to request a collection (charges will apply for households covered by the brown bin collection).
•    More information – here or  01875 824 305 or wasteservices@eastlothian.gov.uk

Fife
•    Brown bins – In or at the side or your brown bin on the January collection date only.
•    Recycling Centre – here
•    More information – here or 08451 55 00 22

Glasgow City
•    Brown bins – Details are on your collection calendar for garden waste.
•    Recycling Centres -  at Queenslie, Polmadie, Shieldhall and Dawshom – more information here
•    Collection points –
o    At Alexandra Park – off Alexandra Parade, Car Park next to Golf Course;
o    Kelvingrove Park, Kelvin Way, Adjacent to bandstand
o    Pollok Country Park, Burrell Car Park
•    More information – here or 0141 287 2000 (switchboard)

Lewisham Borough

•    Collection points – collection from locations around the borough from 28th Dec to 27th Jan.

o    SE4 Hilly Fields – entrance in Hilly Fields Crescent,
o    SE8 Deptford Park- entrance in Scawen Road,
o    SE14 Telegraph Hill -Pepys Road/Kitto Road entrance,
o    SE3 Talbot Place- Blackheath,
o    SE13 Mountsfield Park- entrance top of George Lane,
o    SE26 Sydenham Wells Park- entrance Wells Park Road,
o    SE6 Forster Memorial Park- entrance top of Whitefoot Lane,
o    SE12 Northbrook Park-Baring Road entrance,
o    SE23 Mayow Park- entrance in Mayow Road,
o    SE12 Chinbrook Meadows, Amblecote Road,
o    SE13 Manor House Gardens, Old Road entrance,
o    BR1 Beckenham Place Park–Old Bromley Road entrance
•    More information – here or 020 8314 7171 or recycle@lewisham.gov.uk

Midlothian
•    Brown bins – collection on either: week beginning Mon 16 Jan (West area) OR week beginning Mon 23 Jan (East area)
•    Recycling Centres – take your Christmas tree to the Recycling Centres
•    More information – here or contactcentre@midlothian.gov.uk or 0131 561 5284

Renfrewshire
•    Recycling centres – Full details are available here Household waste and recycling centres
•    More information – 0141 842 5000

Southwark Borough
•    Garden waste collection – as per usual
•    Special collection points
o    Reuse and Recyling centre, Devon Street, SE15 1AL (from 4 Jan 2012)
o    Belair Park
o    Peckham Rye Park
o    Southwark Park
•    Arrange for free collection – by contacting us on 020 7525 2000.
•    More information – here or 020 7525 5000 or csc@southwark.gov.uk

West Lothian
•    Recycling centres – list can be found here.
•    More information – here or 01506 775000 or customer.service@westlothian.gov.uk

Posted in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Environment, Fife, Glasgow, Paisley, South East London, Trees | No Comments »

How to save a life in Fife – part two

Caring Christmas Trees has operated in Fife for the past five years and each year, the funds raised from tree sales go toward providing homeless people in Fife with food, clothes, housing advice and other support services through drop-ins and street work projects.

Last week, we spoke to Helena Richards, from our Community Education department, and we posted an article that explained a bit about the drop-ins that operate in Fife. This week we are looking at how service users find out about the drop-ins and how they are making a difference in their lives.

Users find out about drop-ins through word of mouth. People in the hostels know it is a good, safe place to go and they tell others. Bethany also has good relationships with outside organisations that deal with homelessness, including the Council Homelessness Officer and local churches, who recommend the drop-ins to the people they come in contact with.
One of the ways service users find out about the drop-ins is through Bill, a staff member who regularly travels to a variety of small towns in the surrounding areas. Bill knows where to find the people in need in each town and has built relationships with some of them. He helps them find medical and dental help and tells them about the drop-ins.

And while the drop-ins don’t appeal to everyone, over 200 individuals attended the two locations last year, with each person attending an average of four or five times.

Some will come only once and others will come on a regular basis, disappear for a time and then reappear. When this happens they are welcomed back as if they had never left.

“No questions will be asked,” Helena said, and quickly added, “Other than, ‘What can we do for you?’ of course.”

She explained that it is wonderful to see the effects the drop-ins can have. Oftentimes, a service user will come for some time, but will keep to themselves. Suddenly, they will begin to be engaged and will ask for help and be willing to move forward. At this point, Bethany Christian Trust can move forward too, and begin to look into a more long term solution for this person’s homelessness.

While the drop-in centres are just one step in this process, they can really make a difference, Helena said.

“They can change people’s lives.”

There are three locations for Fife drop-ins:

Methil:
Methil Community Education Centre, Bowling Green Street,
Tuesdays (for Creative Tuesday) 10:30 am – 12noon
Toastie Club, Fridays 11 am – 12noon

Dunfermline:
The Toastie Club, Viewfield Centre, Viewfield Terrace, Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays 10 am – 12noon

Women’s Group, The Link Church, Priory Lane, Fridays 2-3:30 pm

For more information, visit Bethany Christian Trust’s website here.

Posted in Bethany, Charities, Drop Ins, Fife, homeless | No Comments »

In the event of adverse weather…

If you are unable to collect your tree on your original date due to adverse weather conditions, you will be able to collect it on the next available collection date at the same collection point.

For example, if you are due to collect your tree on Friday 9th December at ASDA (Chesser) but cannot make it to the collection point, you may collect it on Saturday 10th December from ASDA (Chesser).

If this is still not possible, the trees will be available for collection the following collection weekend (16th or 17th December) within normal collection times.

If due to adverse weather conditions we need to close any of the collection points, we will aim to let you know in the following ways:

- we will email you,
- we will post on Twitter
- we will post an update to our blog,
- we will announce it on our Facebook page
- our ansaphone message on 0845 111 8733 will reflect this change

and we will be answering the phones Monday-Friday 9am-5pm and on Saturday 10th and 17th December from 10 am to 3 pm.

If in doubt, please do phone us before setting out on your journey!

Posted in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Fife, Glasgow, South East London, Trees | No Comments »

How to save a life in Fife – part one

Caring Christmas Trees has operated in Fife for the past five years and each year, the funds raised from tree sales go toward providing homeless people in Fife with food, clothes, housing advice and other support services through drop-ins and street work projects.

We spoke to Helena Richards, from our Community Education department, and she told us a bit about the drop-ins that operate in Fife and how they are making a difference.

“They’re a safe place,” she began, “People know that.”

The drop-ins are available to anyone who is homeless, vulnerable to being homeless or just emerging from a homeless situation. They offer a secure place for people to come and have a hot drink and some food, play pool, use the internet, have a chat, or sit quietly, read the newspaper and enjoy the warmth.

And they are staffed by friendly Bethany workers who are available to give advice and who run a special program on Tuesdays, called very appropriately, “Creative Tuesdays”, that encourages service users to get creative in sharing their life experiences through written and oral stories, poetry and song in order to help develop confidence and communication and literacy skills.

Helena explained the drop-ins are especially valuable because they provide for both the physical and social needs of the service users. Many of them are suffering in both areas, and the drop-ins provide them with companionship they likely wouldn’t be getting elsewhere.

It helps them to move forward by connecting them to people who can help them, she went on.

“If this wasn’t available, there would be people struggling much deeper,” she said.

There are three locations for Fife drop-ins:

Methil:

Methil Community Education Centre, Bowling Green Street, Tuesdays (for Creative Tuesday) 10:30am – 12noon

Toastie Club, Fridays 11 am – 12noon

Dunfermline:

The Toastie Club, Viewfield Centre, Viewfield Terrace – Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays 10am – 12noon

Women’s Group, The Link Church, Priory Lane, Fridays 2-3:30 pm

For more information, visit the Bethany Christian Trust website.

Tune in this time next week for more on how service users find out about the drop-in services and how they are making a difference in their lives.

Posted in Bethany, Drop Ins, Fife, homeless | No Comments »

Getting in the Christmas spirit!

As we get closer to Christmas, there are many events that pop up to help get us into the Christmas spirit.  Whether it’s a parade, a Christmas Lights Switch-On evening or an ice skating rink, there is something for everyone.

Edinburgh, 24th November, 4-6:15pm

This year Edinburgh will be offering an evening of fun beginning at 4 p.m. with a projection show and walkabout characters on George Street.  Then at 5:15pm the celebrated Norwegian Christmas Tree will be lit at The Mound.  At 6:15pm, a stage in St. Andrew’s Square will open for a show featuring a variety of music and dance performances.  All of Edinburgh’s Christmas features will begin on this day at 10am with the evening’s events as the official kick-off to the Christmas season in Edinburgh.  For more information and specific dates for individual neighbourhood Christmas Lights Switch-Ons click here.

Glasgow, 3rd December, 10:00am-9:00pm
Those looking for Christmas fun in Glasgow need look no further than Family Fun Day which will take place in George Square. There will be plenty of children’s activities, storytelling, Ice Sculpture, Christmas cooking demonstrations and free performances by Finlay MacDonald and Chris Stout (7pm) and Glasgow’s Washington Irving (8 pm).  They are also having what sounds like a spectacular Christmas Lights celebration hosted by Clyde 1 with performances by Karen Dunbar, star of Sleeping Beauty at The Kings Theatre, and the Scottish Ballet. In addition, the Rock Choir will perform, but if you haven’t yet secured your tickets for this event, I’m afraid you are out of luck. The event is already sold out.  For more information, click here

Fife has a variety of Christmas Light Switch-on events happening this year. All of them can be found listed here
Dunfermline, 20th November, 6pm
In the first of our collection point neighbourhoods, Dunfermline, the festivities will begin at 5:30pm with a Christmas parade beginning at East Port and continuing on down High Street. When the parade ends at 6 pm, the lights will be switched on.

Kirkcaldy, 27th November, 12 noon-5pm
In Kirkcaldy, the family fun and entertainment lasts all afternoon starting from noon and going until 5pm at The Mercat, High Street, Kirkcaldy.

St Andrews, 26th November
St. Andrews will host their Christmas Lights Switch-On 26th November beginning at 5:30pm. This evening also marks the end of the annual St Andrews Festival.  A St Andrews procession from West Port Stage will make a full loop back to the starting point where there will then be the Nae4Wimps Ceilidh, an outdoor ceilidh, with Sandy Smith Ceilidh Band. Following the ceilidh will be a performance by Peatbog Faeries on Madras College lawn. For more information on the Festival, Christmas Lights night, and to purchase tickets for the concert, click here

Paisley, 19th November, 12 noon -4pm
The Christmas Lights Switch-On for Paisley has already come and gone with a performance from singer and TV star Stacey Solomon, who also switched on the lights on 5th November.
However, if you would like to see another in the area, Renfrew will be hosting their Christmas Lights Switch-On 19th November from 12-4 pm. Top DJs from the Clyde One Roadshow team will be on hand, as well as Santa himself and there will be a performance by The Detours. Don’t miss the funfair rides or a Christmas carol service at Renfrew North Church by the Renfrew Burgh band.  For more information about the Renfrew Christmas Lights Switch-On, and for other Christmas events in Paisley, click here

Aberdeen, 20th November, 5:15pm
Christmas is coming to Aberdeen on 20 November this year with entertainment starting on Union Street at 5:15pm.  At 5:30pm. a Victorian or “Ye Oldie Times” themed Christmas parade will begin with the Lord Provost in the lead, switching on each light as he passes beneath it. The parade will feature misc from pipe bands, drumming groups, children’s carol singers, a local steel band and of course, Santa and his elves will be there.  For more information click here

South East London, 19th November, 12-7pm, 20th November 12-7pm
Those wishing to get into the holiday spirit can get started this weekend with Ice Skating at Hilly Fields, the launch event for the Brockley Design Festival which consists of “pop-up” events over the next six months. Just £2 will get you skate hire and 20 minutes of skating on the rink which you can follow up with a visit to the craft stalls and café. There will also be an area near the rink for creative consultation activities where everyone is invited to contribute to ideas for improvement in the area. For more information click here

If you know of any Christmas events happening in your area, you can leave a comment below or email us at info@caringchristmastrees.com and we will be happy to post them on the blog.

Posted in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Fife, Glasgow, Paisley, South East London, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Help yourself to a great deal…

Good news for Bethany Christian Trust who’ve been offered a great deal by www.spreebook.com

For the coming week, for every book of vouchers sold, £5 will be donated to Bethany to fund its vital winter work.

It’s a simple offer – you pay £22 for a fantastic book of vouchers that could save you £1000s in the city where you live and homeless persons gets the help they need to make a positive move on this Christmas.

Thanks to the guys at Spree in Aberdeen who made the great offer.

So please, please buy your Spree book now and help a homeless person while you help yourself!

Posted in Aberdeen, Bethany, Dundee, Edinburgh, Fife | No Comments »

We love Forth Radio!

We are delighted to announce that the founder of Bethany Christian Trust, Alan Berry has, just this Thursday afternoon, been awarded the Local Hero Award (Black Horse Finance) with Forth One Radio.

Twenty five years ago Alan was working as Minister of South Leith Baptist Church in Edinburgh. He was constantly being confronted by homeless and vulnerable people; people coming to the church door in need of food, shelter and money.

Alan felt really challenged to do something about the situation so in 1983, with his wife Anne and two friends, they joined together as the founding trustees of Bethany Christian Trust.

He wanted to do something to help the needs of those around him and so opened a nine bed-roomed hostel in Casselbank Street, Leith.

Little did he know where this venture would take him!

In 27 years Alan has grown a one-hostel charity to a massive organisation.

Bethany supports over 4000 vulnerable people each year to transform their lives; providing street level care, homeless hostels, addiction units, supported accommodation, support to help people maintain their own homes, furniture, social interaction and community integration programmes, work placements, community education, drop-in centres and more.

Alan’s sacrifices and community involvement have directly benefited thousands of people; stopping people being homeless and stopping people becoming homeless.

Even now, retired from Bethany, he is still on the board of trustees, is a well known and respected member of the community, and regularly gives talks about Bethany all over Scotland continuing the work he started so many years ago.

Look out for Alan online at www.forthone.com. He will also be in the papers and who knows where else! Out of thousands of entrants from Edinburgh, The Lothian’s & Fife he is number 1!

Posted in Bethany, Edinburgh, Fife, Media coverage | No Comments »

Something even the politicians agree about!

On a windy Scottish day at the foot of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile, the team from Caring Christmas Trees took along a tree to meet a united group of politicians.

Despite the fact that all the political parties from the Scottish Parliament were represented, they were all in agreement about one thing – Caring Christmas Trees is a great idea!

“Helping the homeless people of Fife over Christmas.” – Jim Tolson MSP – Dunfermline West / Scottish Liberal Democrats

“This project should be supported by all who are fortunate enough to have a warm homes and bed this Christmas.” – Dave Thompson MSP – Highlands and Islands / Scottish National Party

“Caring Christmas Trees is a fantastic project which raises valuable funds for the care shelter. It has gone from strength to strength and I encourage everyone to support it this year.” – Gavin Brown MSP – Lothians / Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party

“I would encourage everybody to buy a Bethany real tree this year. It is an extremely worthwhile charity.” – Mike Pringle MSP – Edinburgh South / Scottish Liberal Democrats

“What a brilliant and simple idea. I am delighted to support both the Bethany Trust and the fantastic Impact Arts based in Dennistoun! Great idea. Buy one!!!!” – Anne McLaughlin MSP – Glasgow / Scottish National Party

“I congratulate Bethany Christian Trust on their successful and innovative Caring Christmas Trees initiative, the proceeds from which will support the vital work of their drop-in centres in Fife. Bethany’s work is especially important to vulnerable people at this particular time of year, and I am hugely impressed by their dedication.”  – Elizabeth Smith MSP – Mid Scotland and Fife / Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party

And if you’d like to view a photo of the MSPs, go to the Caring Christmas Trees Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/caringchristmastrees?v=photos&ref=mf#/photo.php?pid=2926797&id=151026488343

Posted in Bethany, Edinburgh, Fife, Glasgow, Impact Arts, Politicians | No Comments »