Supporting Christmas tree recycling in aid of Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and we couldn’t be prouder to support an extremely worthwhile local charity with its sustainability efforts this Christmas.

As part of our continued commitment to the communities surrounding our sites, we’re helping Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice – a charity based near our Blackburn Meadows biomass plant in Sheffield – with its annual Christmas tree recycling service.

Bluebell Wood’s annual ‘Recycle Your Christmas Tree’ scheme gives households the opportunity to support the hospice, the local community and the environment. Its annual Christmas tree collection offers a reliable and environmentally friendly way of disposing of local residents’ Christmas trees.

What’s more, the service ensures that 100% of the trees collected are recycled or repurposed, with collections made from homes in Barnsley, Chesterfield, Doncaster and Rotherham, while some will be used in local schools in Doncaster and the surrounding areas.

Jess Dhariwal, Plant Manager at E.ON’s Blackburn Meadows biomass energy plant, said: “Bluebell Wood is a wonderful local charity and we’re delighted to partner with them for their Christmas tree collection campaign. The team at Blackburn Meadows believes sustainability and community can go hand-in-hand, and recycling Christmas trees and raising money for such a vital cause is a great way to support both.”

Pip Colley, Regional Fundraiser for Bluebell Wood, added: “Our Recycle Your Christmas Tree service is one of the highlights of the year for Bluebell Wood. We are thrilled to partner with some of the largest and most sustainable companies in the region, who are leading the way in sustainability by ensuring our trees are recycled with 0% waste.

“The partners and organisations supporting us in tree collection are highly skilled, and we can't thank them enough for their commitment to our children's hospice. Every penny customers pay to have their tree responsibly recycled goes directly back into our hospice, supporting families, children, babies, and young people through some of the hardest times imaginable. Each tree recycled means a local family in need is supported.

“This is a truly community-led service that directly benefits many local people in a cyclical way, and it's growing every year. We want to thank everyone who has recycled or plans to recycle their tree through us, our partners for their expertise and support, and our amazing volunteers. We couldn't do this without you.”

How to get involved with the ‘Recycle Your Christmas Tree’ service

To register for the tree collection service and support Bluebell Wood, you can register now with collection dates running from  Wednesday 8 January – Thursday 16 January 2025. There is a suggested donation of £15 per collection and households have until  Monday 6 January 2025 to register via  Recycle your Christmas Tree with Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice. The service is unable to collect trees taller than eight feet tall, artificial trees or wreaths.

About Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice

Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice aims to create a home from home, caring for children and young adults whose lives are sadly just too short and supporting families facing the hardest of times. The hospice opened in 2008 and has supported hundreds of children and families from across South Yorkshire, North Derbyshire, North Nottinghamshire and parts of North Lincolnshire.

About Blackburn Meadows

E.ON’s Sheffield-based biomass-fuelled combined heat and power plant, Blackburn Meadows, has been operational since 2015. It uses recycled waste wood sourced from within the UK to generate 30MW of electrical energy and up to 25MW of thermal energy. This plant powers up to 69,000 homes and businesses in the South Yorkshire region.