Having brought joy to Lithuanian families over the holidays, Christmas trees will now warm them through the rest of winter after being converted into biofuel.

A local waste collection company has set up special containers at shopping malls and residential blocks in 12 cities around the Baltic EU state, urging residents to donate their now needless pines or firs.

"We were delighted by the beautiful Christmas trees during the holidays, and they can leave us nicely by becoming biofuel and warming our homes," Inga Kovalionok of the Ecoservice company told AFP on Monday.

She said she hopes the initiative will also raise public awareness about recycling.

Ecoservice expects to collect some 700 cubic meters of trees and then hand them over to biofuel producers.