LANGBROEK – In Langbroek, residents were able to drop off their Christmas trees at the local garden center all Wednesday afternoon. In total, nearly 300 trees were collected within four hours. They will be shredded, and the wood chips will be used as mulch in the food forest in Wijk bij Duurstede.
TV segment for RTV Utrecht by Ulrike Nagel.
The Christmas tree chipping day is primarily intended for children living in Langbroek. Sem is one of the first to arrive on the grounds shortly after noon, driving in on his go-kart. He’s carrying no fewer than four trees on the back, tied together with a rope. “We’ve been at it since Monday. This was my first trip, but I’ll be back a few more times. It’s pretty tough, because some of the trees were still in pots, so it wasn’t easy to get them out.”
A little further down the street, Kaj, wearing blue overalls, is standing on a trailer. He’s tossing the Christmas trees onto the street, and his friends are dragging them to the wood chipper. How many has he brought here so far? “53!” He walks over to Corienne Merkens from the local garden center, who’s organizing the event. “We actually used to do this back when I was little. People could drop off their trees here, and we’d burn them. At some point, that was no longer allowed, so last year my cousin and I put our heads together and figured out how we could do this differently.”
A solution lay in a partnership between the garden center and the food forest being planted in Wijk bij Duurstede. “It’s a forest you can walk through and, in principle, eat anything you come across,” explains Petra Ekhardt, who looks after the food forest. “We can put the Christmas tree trimmings to good use as mulch; that way, the paths are less muddy. And since it’s a layer of mulch, it brings more life to the soil—more worms, more worm beds. And that’s good for the forest.” Corienne is already standing by with a crate of apples when she spots Kaj and his friends. The boys also get a voucher for free fries—one voucher for each tree. Kaj already has more than 50 vouchers for fries in his pocket. Are the parents happy about that—so many fries? “Not really,” his mother laughs, “but the kids are outside, they’re really putting in a lot of effort, and they’re doing a lot of work for a good cause. So actually, this is perfect for the Christmas break.”
The coupons can still be redeemed throughout the month of January at the village cafeteria. Half of the costs are covered by the Langbroek Business Fund; the other half is paid for by the garden center and its associated landscaping company. Three weeks ago, the garden center sold all those Christmas trees; now they’re coming back. It’s a unique cycle, Corienne Merkens admits. “Yes, that’s actually quite strange. But this way, we can at least ensure that the tree is no longer waste but is given a new purpose.”
