Utrecht municipality criticized over €77K Christmas tree cleanup bill

The municipality of Stichtse Vecht is facing criticism after spending 77,588 euros on last year’s Christmas tree collection—more than 50 percent above budget and the highest amount recorded across all municipalities in the province of Utrecht, RTV Utrecht reports.

The cost, discussed during a recent city council meeting, far exceeded the planned budget of 50,000 euros. A total of 4,450 trees were collected, amounting to 17.44 euros per tree.

To involve the community, the municipality set up 25 drop-off locations and allowed children to turn in Christmas trees for 1 euro each. Those who collected more than 15 trees were also eligible for home pickup. Instead of organizing the effort internally, the municipality hired an events agency to handle logistics.

“This form of collection resembled an event more than standard waste pickup and therefore involved significantly higher costs,” a municipal spokesperson said. “Personnel costs were especially high due to the involvement of an events bureau.”

Comparable municipalities reported significantly lower expenditures. In Woerden, 4,194 trees were collected for only 3,900 euros—or just 0.93 cents per tree. The main difference: Woerden handled the process internally without external contractors. In Utrecht, the municipality largely managed the collection itself, spending around 40,000 euros.

Even other towns that did hire external contractors spent far less. Utrechtse Heuvelrug paid 9,250 euros to collect about 2,600 trees (roughly 40,000 kilograms), and De Bilt spent approximately 7,500 euros for its outsourced collection.

Council members in Stichtse Vecht expressed concern about repeating the same mistake this winter. “Otherwise, we’ll once again be presented with an exorbitant bill by an events bureau next year,” Sarah van Lindenberg-Hess, CDA faction leader, told RTV Utrecht.

Still, the municipality says changes this year will be limited. “It’s difficult to mobilize enough staff for a one-day effort like this,” the spokesperson explained. “The short lead time also made it hard to recruit volunteers, and the collection logistics required additional truck drivers.”

The municipality is reportedly exploring cost-saving options, including using more in-house staff. However, the spokesperson added, “We cannot avoid hiring an events bureau again this year to make this operation possible.”