At the end of the festive season, Kaunas region welcomes the record-breaking Christmas tree collection infrastructure, ensuring convenient collection of Christmas trees. To meet the needs of their residents, the municipalities of Kaunas City and Kaunas, Kaisiadorys, Kėdainiai, Jonava and Raseiniai districts have planned a very wide network of collection points this year – almost 300 special points have been set up across the region.
Different procedures in municipalities: what is important to know?
Laurynas Virbickas, Director of Kaunas Regional Waste Management Centre (RWMC), points out that each municipality plans the collection of Christmas trees individually. For example, in Kaunas, special collection points will be open throughout the month of January, so residents can drop off their trees at any time convenient for them. Meanwhile, in other districts, green trees are collected at pre-determined locations according to specific schedules. The head of Kaunas RATC adds that it is also possible to take care of the Christmas tree yourself by delivering it directly to the green waste composting sites in the region: in Kaunas – Nemajūnų St. 15A, in Kaunas District – Juozapava K. 1 (Vandžiogala Sene.), and in Kėdainiai District – the green waste site of Zabieliškis landfill.
Before you say goodbye to your Christmas tree, don’t forget to decorate it completely – only without toys, garlands, pots or plastic wrap will it be able to become a useful resource. It is strictly forbidden to throw Christmas trees or their branches into mixed municipal waste or packaging containers. Once in the general waste stream, green boughs lose the opportunity to be properly managed: not only do they take up valuable space in containers, but they also contaminate other recyclable materials. “Don’t leave your trees anywhere – only trees collected at special points and handed over to waste managers become valuable raw materials: either heat for our homes or valuable compost enriched with coal.” – emphasises L. Virbickas.
Spruce collection locations and schedules in Kaunas region
As each municipality in Kaunas region organises the collection individually, residents are urged to check the exact locations and dates in their municipal or district notices. Below are links to help you find the information you need quickly:
Residents of Kaunas are invited to leave their decorated Christmas trees only at specially equipped collection points, of which more than 200 have been set up this year. Christmas trees are collected in Kaunas on 2-31 January. More information here.
You can also deliver the trees on your own to the Kaunas RATC green waste composting site – Nemajūnų str. 15A, Kaunas, during opening hours. More information: https://kaunoratc.lt/zaka/
In Kaunas District, Christmas tree collection is organised in a slightly different way than in the city, with specific collection points and collection periods in each municipality. More information here. In addition to the designated collection points, residents of the district can deliver the trees on their own to the green waste site at Juozapava K. 1, Vandžiogala sen.: https://kaunoratc.lt/zaka/
In Jonava District, Christmas tree collections are organised from 1-12 January. More information here.
In Kaišiadorys District, Christmas tree collections will also take place in designated areas in all the district’s wards. More information here.
In Kėdainiai District, residents can leave their decorated trees at the communal container sites, but only on specified days, according to a specially set schedule. Leaving trees at other times is strictly prohibited. More information here. Alternatively, residents can deliver their Christmas trees to the green waste composting site of Kaunas RATC Zabieliškis landfill at any time (during working hours). More information: https://kaunoratc.lt/zaka/
In Raseiniai District, decorated Christmas trees will be collected separately from 6-19 January. Please leave the trees in the designated boxes at the container sites of apartment buildings. More information here.
Green waste composting sites in Kaunas region:
Kaunas – Nemajūnų g. 15A
In Kaunas district – Juozapavos k. 1, Vandžiogala sen.
In Kėdainiai district – Liepų g. 16, Zabieliškis k.
The information is based on data from Kaunas RATC, UAB “Kauno Švara” and Kaunas region municipalities.