When the needles start dropping like rain it’s probably time to think about saying goodbye to the Christmas tree.

Tower Hamlets Council will be collecting real festive firs and seasonal spruces from January 7 to 21.

Anyone who gets a food and garden waste collection and wants to take advantage of the service is asked to strip trees of tinsel, baubles and all the decorations before leaving them out for collection on their usual day.

They should also be taken out of any pots.

Households without a kerbside service are advised to contact their landlord or property management firm to arrange a collection.

Or if you have a garden you could plant the tree there of course.

Alternatively, unwanted trees can be taken to the Reuse and Recycling Centre in Yabsley Street, Canary Wharf.

The centre is open weekdays from 8am to 8pm except on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve when it closes at 3.30pm.

It is open 9am to 6pm at weekends and 9am to 4.30pm on Bank holidays. It will be closed on Christmas Day.

Over the bank holiday period there will be changes to the arrangements for domestic, trade waste and recycling collection. If your usual collection day is any day other than Monday, your waste, recycling, food and garden waste collections will be affected.

The binmen won’t be out on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Eve.

But the advice this Christmas, as usual, is to reduce waste and reuse items as much as possible.

Households are advised to recycle as much as possible to lessen the impact on the environment of empty containers, discarded wrapping paper and empties.

Recyclable waste can be turned into other products instead of being thrown away and ending up buried in the ground at landfill sites where they release methane gas into the atmosphere.

Top tips include remembering to wash, squash and take the lids off plastic bottles before recycling them.

Buying goods made from recycled materials and keeping a container for recycling next to the bin at home so it becomes an easy option are also recommended.