It's inevitable. We are less than a month away from Christmas, and this dumping of snow we've been having in Eastern Ontario has me thinking of, you know what, the big C-word. Aside from the hustle and bustle of the malls (which don't do it at all for me), it's one of my favorite times of year. Before we had the kids, I used to deck out the house in all kinds of trimmings, decorations and of course, not one but two trees. Now I'm lucky if I can get the stockings hung on the fireplace mantel before midnight on Christmas Eve! But one tradition I could never part with is putting up our Christmas tree. Growing up we always had real trees that we would put up just a few days before Christmas. Some years we would go and cut down our own. I loved it! And, of course, nothing beats the smell of a real Christmas tree.
But exactly what is the impact of a real tree on the environment? According to Environment Canada, using a real tree is preferable to using an artificial one. How can that be when real trees are grown, used once and then disposed of? Well, consider the following:
- by choosing a real tree, you are not depleting any forests since most Christmas trees are grown as crops on tree farms, and that for each tree harvested, there are 10 more growing (from the Ontario Farm Grown Christmas Tree web site);
- while they are growing, Christmas trees remove CO2 from the atmosphere (that's a good thing, considering all of the CO2 produced by the burning of fossil fuels, you know, like when we drive our cars for example), and one acre of trees can produce enough oxygen for 18 people (again, from the Ontario Farm Grown Christmas Tree web site);
- Most Canadian municipalities have a tree collection service where they pickup trees as part of regular garbage collection. The trees are usually recycled into mulch. The mulch can then be composed or reused, for example in landscaping.
Sure, artificial trees can be reused year after year. But once again, consider this: artificial trees are made of PVC (polyvinyl chloride), and what's more, most contain lead (used as a stabilizer). Can you say t-o-x-i-c? And, although their lifespan can be considerably longer than a real tree (though that might depend on how you recycle your real tree), once their life is over, there are no recycling facilities for artificial trees. Which means that, you guessed it, they end up in a landfill. So, from the beginning of their life (the production of PVC creates an enormous amount of pollution), to the end, they are great big, toxic soups of plastic and lead.
But exactly what is the impact of a real tree on the environment? According to Environment Canada, using a real tree is preferable to using an artificial one. How can that be when real trees are grown, used once and then disposed of? Well, consider the following:
- by choosing a real tree, you are not depleting any forests since most Christmas trees are grown as crops on tree farms, and that for each tree harvested, there are 10 more growing (from the Ontario Farm Grown Christmas Tree web site);
- while they are growing, Christmas trees remove CO2 from the atmosphere (that's a good thing, considering all of the CO2 produced by the burning of fossil fuels, you know, like when we drive our cars for example), and one acre of trees can produce enough oxygen for 18 people (again, from the Ontario Farm Grown Christmas Tree web site);
- Most Canadian municipalities have a tree collection service where they pickup trees as part of regular garbage collection. The trees are usually recycled into mulch. The mulch can then be composed or reused, for example in landscaping.
Sure, artificial trees can be reused year after year. But once again, consider this: artificial trees are made of PVC (polyvinyl chloride), and what's more, most contain lead (used as a stabilizer). Can you say t-o-x-i-c? And, although their lifespan can be considerably longer than a real tree (though that might depend on how you recycle your real tree), once their life is over, there are no recycling facilities for artificial trees. Which means that, you guessed it, they end up in a landfill. So, from the beginning of their life (the production of PVC creates an enormous amount of pollution), to the end, they are great big, toxic soups of plastic and lead.
A few last considerations about real Christmas trees. Like with any other farming activity, practices can vary widely, namely with the use of pesticides and herbicides. So, if you want your tree to be as green as possible, look to support a small, local, conscientious grower and you will have all bases covered.
(photo courtesy of Soil-Science.info)
