Christmas trees are being recycled into bookcases and mulch for the fifth year now in Bratislava

The Capital City, Waste Removal and Disposal (OLO), Komunálny podnik Bratislava, the company BUČINA EKO, IKEA Industry and the IKEA furniture company are again seeing to the hauling and material recycling of live Christmas trees this season. Bratislava residents have left more than 43,600 trees weighing almost 240 tonnes into the wooden enclosures provided. Some of them will return to the city in the form of bookcases and will serve the city library, the Bratislava Zoo, the Centre for the Support of the Integration of Foreigners, and organisations devoted to the mental health of children. This year, too, some of the trees were processed into mulch for use in the gardens of Bratislava households and the Sad Janka Kráľa park.

Live Christmas trees were collected all across Bratislava from 7 January to 14 February 2025, by means of 730 wooden enclosures made of disaster wood. After the Christmas season, residents of the capital city left more than 43,600 trees weighing almost 240 tonnes in these enclosures.

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The bookcases built from the trees will once again be handed over to city organisations and the mulch to households with gardens

The pilot New Year Mulching event last year had a very positive response among Bratislava residents, which is why two such events were held this year. In the Sad Janka Kráľa park and the Park Kazanská in Vrakuňa, more than four tonnes of Bratislava Christmas trees were assessed and distributed in the form of mulch. This wood chip from coniferous trees – which prevents weeds from growing, supports the formation of humus and also maintains moisture – was taken away by visitors for their own trees, bushes and flower beds. The Komunálny podnik Bratislava (municipal enterprise), in cooperation with volunteers, also placed mulch around the trees in the Sad Janka Kráľa park.

The City Hall of the Capital, OLO, Komunálny podnik Bratislava, the company BUČINA EKO, IKEA Industry and the furniture company IKEA will again this year donate 150 Christmas tree bookcases to city institutions, such as the city library, city hostels, the Centre for the Support of the Integration of Foreigners, the Bratislava Zoo and organisations focused on children’s mental health. The bookcases will once again be filled with books from KOLO – the Bratislava Reuse Centre.

Five seasons of systematic Christmas tree collection mean 1,080 tonnes of recycled waste

“Since 2021, 1,080 tonnes of live Christmas trees have been collected in Bratislava. Thanks to the cooperation of the population, they first became compost, then bookcases and mulch. The project has been developing for several years, and we are looking for new ways to turn the trees into a benefit for the people of Bratislava after every Christmas. Aside from bookcases, this year we also have mulch from the trees, which ended up not only in many gardens, but also in our city’s Sad Janka Kráľa park. We are happy that the trees are also managing to follow the path of the city’s circular principles,” says Martina Čechová, manager of the circular economy at OLO.