Christmas trees are piling up in Prague streets – here's the proper disposal

As the festive season comes to a close, Prague residents are once again facing criticism for improperly discarding their Christmas trees. In the days following New Year’s, it’s common to see discarded trees littering the streets, often placed haphazardly next to trash bins or left to pile up on sidewalks.

Though this has become an annual occurrence, this year, the problem seems to have intensified. Prague waste management company Pražské služby has reported an increase in the number of trees left outside family homes, especially near black trash bins, where residents are hoping waste collectors will take them.

“It’s unclear why this year there seems to be a surge in this behavior,” Alexandr Komarnický, a spokesperson for Pražské služby, tells Metro.cz in a recent interview. “We see people leaving trees next to trash bins, and sometimes even abandoning them randomly on the sidewalk.”

Though it's tempting to leave a tree in the hope that it will be collected, Komarnický emphasizes that waste management crews are not responsible for picking them up in these situations.

The correct method for disposing of a Christmas tree is simple and straightforward: first, the tree must be stripped of all decorations, including ornaments, tinsel, and lights. Once this is done, the tree should be transported to the nearest public recycling container or a designated collection point for Christmas trees.

In Prague, these designated locations are easily accessible, and waste management officials stress that residents should make the effort to bring their trees to these spots instead of abandoning them in inappropriate locations.

To find the nearest public recycling containers, Prague residents can use the online map available on the official waste disposal website. The map helps users pinpoint nearby locations where Christmas trees can be left for collection.

Discarded Christmas trees should always be placed next to the public recycling containers, not inside them. "Trees should never be thrown into the recycling containers themselves," Komarnický explains. "This obstructs the waste management process for other residents."

In parts of Prague where the recycling containers are located behind fences or inside courtyards, residents have the option to leave their trees next to public black trash bins. These bins are typically more accessible and can be used for Christmas tree disposal if the colored bins are not in the immediate vicinity.

From Jan. 7 to Feb. 28, Prague’s waste management teams will be collecting up to 400,000 Christmas trees across the city. Last year, nearly 319 tons of Christmas tree waste were collected and sent to composting facilities where they are transformed into mulch or compost. The specialized trucks used for this task are equipped to pick up trees left on the streets and ensure they’re properly processed.

However, if trees are not properly stripped of decorations or are left in non-designated locations, they will not be taken by waste management crews. In such cases, the trees are sent to ZEVO Malešice, one of the largest waste-to-energy plants in the EU, where they are converted into energy instead of being recycled.