88,544 unwanted Christmas trees became mulch — and £1.88 million (about $2.6 million) for local hospices

Every January, Britain throws out millions of real Christmas trees. The Big Christmas TreeCycle Appeal turns that chore into a fundraiser: households book a collection, volunteers come to the door, and the trees are chipped into mulch, biomass and land-management products instead of going to landfill. In its 2026 impact report, organiser Just Helping says the latest campaign — the largest in its 14-year history — collected 88,544 trees with more than 4,000 volunteers and raised a record £1,885,915 (about $2.6 million) for local causes, £345,000 (about $469,000) more than the year before. Of every pound raised, 81.2 pence went straight to 70 lead charity partners, most of them local hospices that organise the collection routes in their areas, with a further share for smaller community groups.

SDG 12 · Responsible consumption and production — Mechanism: community action