I think we are good neighbors. We are fairly quiet (except for occasional tantrums from the now 4-year-old). We hold the door and carry bags for the people that live upstairs. We accept packages. We make proper German small talk about the weather and health (proper meaning brief and direct). We recycle properly.

A discarded Christmas tree in Berlin. PHOTO: Erin Porter

…except for one notable case. And our neighbors noticed. Big time. And it had to do with our Weihnachtsbaum (Christmas tree).

The Christmas tree is a beloved German tradition.  Germans traditionally get the tree, decorate, cook, and open presents all on December 24th. So the tree has some life left after the holiday. But by January 6th, or Dreikönigsfest (Three Kings Day), most German trees are on their way out.

We put our tree up a bit earlier so it is often struggling by January 7h. One year, we moved it to the balcony so we weren’t walking on a sea of pine needles every day. Before we knew it, it was February and our Christmas tree was still perched on the balcony. Clearly, it was an issue.

Not sure how to proceed, we left it there for another month. Then, in a late night fit of “We must do something!”, we tossed it off the balcony onto the sidewalk. In March. And it stayed right there for another month.

We would see it on the way to the grocery store or KiTa and wave. It got kicked along to the corner, then came back. At one point, someone sprinkled it with birdseed for the Berlin wildlife. I had half-convinced myself it wasn’t that bad that our tree was still on our street in April.

Not surprisingly, a neighbor disagreed.

We opened our door to the hall one weekend, in a rush to get wherever we were going, and were rudely greeted by our tree. Now brown and prickly, it stood right in our path in the doorway.

Someone – and it had to be one of our neighbors – had grabbed it from the street, brought it back inside our building, and parked it at our door. We had thought our midnight tree dumping was anonymous, but somehow, someone knew and was rightfully shaming us.

Stunned at this passive aggressive protest (versus the typical all-out aggressive Berlin response), we paused. Then hauled it to our Hof (courtyard) and proceeded with our day.

There are only five other units in our building so we have a guess about who it was, but neither of us have ever spoken about it. But we got the message loud and clear. Recycling is serious in Germany and this extends to Christmas trees.

Don’t be like us. Recycle your Christmas tree in Germany properly. Here is how:

What to do with your Christmas Tree after Christmas in Germany
As mentioned earlier,  after January 6th to mid-month is the typical time frame for Christmas tree pick-up in Germany.  Once the Sternsinger (star singers) have gone door-to-door in places like Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, and Saxony-Anhalt and the other states are simply over Christmas, Germany’s recycle and garbage providers get to work collecting the discarded Christmas trees.

Most Städte (cities) and Dörfer (villages) provide a list of times and places for drop off. Signs are usually posted a few days before, as well as listings in the newspaper. It is particularly helpful when info cards are delivered to each mailbox or building, but this doesn’t always happen. Look out for these notices as it can be easy to miss if you aren’t looking – like us. If you need to do a search, try “Entsorgung von Weihnachtsbäumen“.

Another tell-tale sign that pick-ups are coming is that trees will start appearing on the street. In early January it can feel like you are tripping over Christmas trees walking along the street, heading to the tram, and in every corner of the city. Hopefully they have appeared before the pick-up date so they won’t stay there for the next few months like ours.

Pick-ups may only happen in a central location so you may be responsible for transporting your tree a bit further before you are done with it. In bigger cities, this may be as simple as tossing it on the street (you just got to do it on the right days). Check with your garbage provider.

There is no need to prep the tree in any way. Just make sure it is without ornaments or tinsel, and uncovered. Pick-ups usually happen early in the morning, so toss them the night before. In most cases, this service is absolutely free as it is included in your monthly cost for waste.

In the countryside, the Burschenvereine (local farmers’ group) or volunteer fire brigades may collect trees for a small donation.

If you miss all dates, don’t do what we did. Bio (organic) bins are available alongside most trash and recycle bins and can be used to dispose of a Christmas tree in a pinch. It might be ignored if it doesn’t fit in the bin, so you might need to put some muscle into breaking down your tree.

What Happens to Recycled Christmas Trees in Germany
Worries about the ethics of having a real Christmas tree can be somewhat assuaged by the fact that trees are turned into green energy. All those collected trees are shredded to make eco-friendly energy fuel. Others might be used to make compost.

Unsold Christmas trees still have a chance to bring joy. Berlin’s council decided to collect these sad trees and re-purpose them for elephant food at the zoo. Visit either the Berlin Zoo or Tierpark Zoo to watch the elephants munch on these festive snacks.

The holiday spirit lives on! Let’s keep the good vibes flowing for the rest of the year.