This means you can continue to use your Christmas tree instead of throwing it away

Traditionally, the Christmas tree remains in the country’s rooms until January 6, Epiphany. By then it’s time to say goodbye to Christmas – and the tree. But how?

Many communities offer free Christmas tree removal in January. Until a few years ago you could still throw away your Christmas tree with the organic waste in Zurich. But now Disposal and Recycling Zurich (ERZ) is warning about this because “the trees were partly chemically treated and often also contained residues of artificial wax and tinsel,” as ERZ’s deputy media spokesperson Daniel Eberhard explained to the Zürcher Tagblatt. Since then, the pine trees have been thrown away with normal household waste.

In Bern, for example, disposal is still done via green waste. It is best to ask your municipality whether, when and how exactly you can have your Christmas tree removed.

However, there is no need to permanently get rid of your Christmas tree, you can simply continue to use it for other purposes. Here are a few ideas:

If you have beds in your garden, you can protect them from wind and cold in winter with the branches of the Christmas tree. The cut branches can also be used in flower boxes. At the same time, the pine branches serve as protection against snails, because the animals are afraid to crawl over them and therefore turn around again.

You can also use the tree branches to create a refuge for animals: To do this, simply place a few branches in a corner of the garden. Birds can hide in this pile if danger lurks. And the shelter is ideal for hedgehogs or insects to hibernate in.

It is important that you only use this tip in your own garden – and not in the forest. Normally it is forbidden to dump whole pine trees or their remains in the forest.

You can use the wood from the pine tree to fuel your wood stove. To do this, you must dry it very well (at least a year), otherwise the wood has too low a calorific value. In this case, too much smoke and particulate matter is produced, which should be avoided. You can use a measuring device from the hardware store to check whether the required moisture content of up to 25 percent has been reached. Only then can you burn the wood.

The cold season is far from over – if it also bothers you, try taking a bath made from pine needles to get rid of the cold. Spruce and spruce trees contain essential oils that have a relaxing and expectorant effect.

For a full bath you need about 100 grams of pine, pine or spruce needles, which you boil in water for at least ten minutes. You can then pour the finished mixture through a sieve into the bath water.

If pine needles were so healthy, why wouldn’t you make tea from them? You will need a teaspoon of chopped needles to add to a cup of hot water. It is best to let the tea steep for about ten minutes.

Please note: For this type of tea, only use needles that come from a tree that has not been sprayed! Actually, only trees with a biological seal are eligible.

The wood of coniferous trees such as spruce and spruce is ideal for crafts and carving because it is relatively soft. Now prepare for Christmas 2024 and make your own Christmas tree decorations. To do this, you can saw off slices of the trunk, paint them and drill a hole in them to attach them to a string.

Otherwise, you can of course give free rein to your creativity – you can certainly create a lot if you have the talent for it.