Recycled Christmas trees in Croydon prevented nearly 55 tonnes of waste going to landfill.

Instead of being buried in the ground, the trees were chipped and processed enabling them to be able to returned to the land as soil improver.

An estimated 11,000 trees were recycled in the borough, saving taxpayers £5,500 in landfill charges.

The figure is over 3,000 more than have been recycled in previous years and contributes towards the council's recycling rate which has tripled since 2006 to 45 percent.

Councillor Phil Thomas, cabinet member for highways and environmental services, said: “With landfill taxes going up all the time, this is a real reminder of how easy and important it is that people recycle as much as possible.

"I’m pleased that so many took advantage of our collection points, because everything helps us move closer to our target of recycling at least 50% of the borough’s waste.”