Recycle Your Christmas Tree!

I love real Christmas trees; it just doesn't seem like Christmas without one. Though it bothers me to think about cutting down a new tree every year, a Life Cycle Assessment from Ellipsos, a sustainable development strategy firm, makes me feel better about my choice--as long as I recycle my tree when it's time to undeck the halls.

Natural trees generate 3.1 kg of greenhouse gases per year while artificial trees produce 8.1 kg per year. For natural Christmas trees, the main ecological impact stems from transportation to and from the tree farm; for artificial trees, the production stage accounts for 93 percent of the impact measured by Ellipsos: manufacturing (85 percent) and transport from China (8 percent).

Ellipsos researchers considered natural and artificial trees' environmental impacts, from the extraction of raw materials, the manufacturing process, transport and distribution, use, reuse, recycling and disposal. Even though most people reuse an artificial tree for up to six years on average, artificial trees would need to be kept for at least 20 years to compete with natural trees.

Having a natural tree does have an impact. The tree requires water to stay green while it's in your home, and disposal matters. Some great earth-friendly options include:

• Chop it down and use it for firewood.

• Take it to a recycling center to be turned into mulch or a wildlife habitat

• Send it to help rebuild the Louisiana Coastline.

This year, Boy Scouts troops across the country will collect trees from your curb and take them to a recycler for you. Consider giving back to the community and saving some personal time; the money you donate to the troop covers gas costs and supports Boy Scout programs.

 

Follow Robyn Griggs Lawrence on Twitter: www.twitter.com/naturalhomemag

Comments

[Olofio]

12:36 AM on 01/04/2010

If a natural tree produces 3.1kg. of greenhouse gases per year, then how much more is produced by shipping it to Louisiana for shore support, then having a helicopter lift it into place? Seems like it's really more harmful than just tossing it in the trash. At least it's only going a little way to the landfill, right? And isn't it helpful in breaking down other items in the landfill? But this produces methane, which is bad! So I guess burning IS the answer. However, this also leads to global warming because of the gases produced during burning. Maybe chipping it up for mulch is the way to go. Wait, chippers run on gasoline or diesel fuel, enemies of the atmosphere! And if it is mulched, then you have to drive to pick up the mulch in an internal combustion vehicle, a double whammy! The only true answer is to leave it up all year. And never take it down. Ever.

[clevelandchick]

08:19 AM on 12/30/2009

Here, the city collects the trees and turns them into mulch which is available free to residents.

[Zachary Fisk]

10:41 AM on 12/29/2009

I prefer live locally grown trees to support local farms and keep them from becoming housing. Good for your local economy and local environment.

[dogdiva]

07:16 AM on 12/29/2009

I question your advice to burn the tree for firewood. Pine and I assume other similar trees have a great deal of 'pitch' which builds up in your chimney possibly causing it be become unsafe. I believe they also burn extremely hot and fast creating the possibility of chimney fires.

Perhaps others can correct me if I'm wrong about burning your Christmas trees or it might just be best to take the other 2 options.

[classicalgeek]

05:52 AM on 01/01/2010

As long as you are not burning 100% pine all the time, an annual chimney cleaning should suffice. I burn mostly hardwood deadfall and windfall and have my chimney cleaned in alternate years and I've never had any problems.

[fromma]

09:54 PM on 12/28/2009

I used to live in a coastal community in Massachusetts. Every year the week afte Christmas the town would collect all the Christmas trees left on the curbside and bring them to beach to collect the beach sand that would invariably blow when the wind came out of the north. Each spring they took each tree, shook the sand out then brought it to the town's green waste facility. Some workers stayed on the beach and respread the sand. Christmas trees are also used for dune restoration on Cape Cod. They are awesome for catching blowing beach sand.