Did You KNow That Real Christmas Trees Are More Environmentally Friendly?
By pyewacket
@pyewacket (43903)
United States
November 27, 2010 12:24am CST
Well the Christmas season is approaching faster than a speeding reindeer sleigh and I thought I'd give the heads up about which is better...a real Christmas tree or a fake one.
For as long I can remember, interpretation, all my life, I grew up celebrating Christmas with a real evergreen tree--never a artificial one. There's just something about having that real tree, with that wonderful natural pine smell that made Christmas special. Now environmentally minded people might say, oh, but you're killing trees, how can you sanction that? Well first of all, about 99-percent of all real Christmas trees are raised on tree farms, for every tree they cut down, about two or three more are planted. The other 1% are those people who actually go into the woods and chop their own tree, which lets face it not many of us are doing.
What people don't realize are the real environmental issues with the whole real Christmas tree versus artificial. I had been watching a show called My Green House which is shown on the Living Well Hd channel, and it was mentioned how getting real trees are more environmentally friendly than artificial ones. So I wanted to find out just how much more real trees were better for the environment. Okay this one website might be a tad bias since it is from the National Christmas Tree Association but one can google "Are real Christmas Trees more environmentally safe" and one will get a lot of results
http://www.christmastree.org/debate.cfm
So here's the skinny on just how much better real trees are for the environment and I'll just point out a few but please read the comparisons on the website I've cited:
Real trees come from United States and Canada while most artificial ones are from China
Real trees are completely biodegradable while fake ones aren't, also real trees are collected to be mulched so therefore are recycled, while fake ones are thrown in the garbage and therefore landfills
The real big difference is that real trees are PVC and lead free while fake ones aren't--PVC as you know is a highly toxic material and dangerous for the environment
As I said I'm basically summarizing what is said on that website and a lot more is mentioned. Also, one thing I remember vividly on that My Green House episode it was mentioned that artificial trees cause the most fires every year during Christmas time rather than real trees.
Sooooo---you still like that artificial tree? Yes, one can have them up longer than a real tree, heck if you want to keep a fake tree up all year you could whereas with a real tree you can't. But from an environmental viewpoint, real trees are more eco-friendly..and hey folks...don't you just love the smell of a real tree anyway?
So if you have a fake tree, are you going to rethink from an environmentally eco-friendly viewpoint? Do you get a real tree?
Am I going to get a real tree? You betcha
4 people like this
12 responses
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
28 Nov 10
We forgo a tree altogether. Between the kids and the pets, its not worth the hassle. Personally, I don't care for the smell of the live tree. When I go into peoples homes its nice for 5 minutes.
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
11 Dec 10
It's funny I can't STAND the smell of pine cleaner but don't mind the smell of a real tree
1 person likes this
@voldrox (7191)
• India
28 Nov 10
Hello Pyewacket,
Artificial trees have an issue with dumping, they are so big too. If everybody starts buying artificial ones, then there could be a problem later with dumping it. Even if we buy such trees, we better keep them for the next couple of years. If everybody starts buying an artificial tree and throwing them each year, then it is going to cause a lot of problems. I don't like the artificial trees either. They don't get you the real feel for the decoration, but it's okay if you don't have any other option. At least it does look beautiful if we arrange decorations and light LED's over it. I don't know why they come so expensive though. I would always want to keep a real tree for decorations. At my grandfathers place there is a tree which is very similar to the pine type structure of the Christmas tree. We don't get those real Christmas trees at our place and so we use this tree which looks like it. Hey, it's pretty too. We have put that into a large pot and we locate the whole plant into our drawing room during this time of the year. It's pretty heavy, so we need two or three people to help move it from the outside to the inside. We decorate it with stars, bells, Christmas cards and those small nice looking beautiful blinking lights. A Christmas decorated room looks so beautiful, the atmosphere fills in. 
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
11 Dec 10
I agree how a Christmas decorated room looks so beautiful and festive...in fact, this weekend I'm going to start decorating the entire apt with Christmas themes and I should be getting my tree sometime next week. I love the way my apt looks at Christmas so much I hate taking things down and putting them away
1 person likes this
@Galena (9110)
•
27 Nov 10
we've had an artificial tree ever since the year we got our first rescue greyhound on a boxing day.
being an ex racer, he'd never been in a home in his whole life, so on seeing a tree in the corner, you can imagine what he thought it was there for 
so the following year we had an artificial tree to save confusing him.
I think the thing is, if you do have an artificial tree, make it a good quality one that you will go on using for many many years, rather than use it a few years and then dump when it gets tatty.
personally, I love my artificial tree, it's been up since mid november, as I find that when the clocks change I get quite depressed very easily, as it's so dull. the sparkly tree in the corner really lifts my spirits and counteracts the dull greyness outside. if I had a real tree, I'd not be able to put it up as soon as the winter blues get bad. I also tend to have it up a long time after Christmas too.
I think there's pros and cons to both. and my perspective is, if you have an artificial tree, make it a good one that will last you. not one that is poor quality and will be thrown away for being tatty in a few years, or one that is very "on trend" that you won't want next year or the year after.
so the following year we had an artificial tree to save confusing him.
I think the thing is, if you do have an artificial tree, make it a good quality one that you will go on using for many many years, rather than use it a few years and then dump when it gets tatty.
personally, I love my artificial tree, it's been up since mid november, as I find that when the clocks change I get quite depressed very easily, as it's so dull. the sparkly tree in the corner really lifts my spirits and counteracts the dull greyness outside. if I had a real tree, I'd not be able to put it up as soon as the winter blues get bad. I also tend to have it up a long time after Christmas too.
I think there's pros and cons to both. and my perspective is, if you have an artificial tree, make it a good one that will last you. not one that is poor quality and will be thrown away for being tatty in a few years, or one that is very "on trend" that you won't want next year or the year after.
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
11 Dec 10
I guess another reason for my never thinking of getting an artificial tree....space. I would have absolutely nowhere to put it after the season was over.
I actually DO have a very small X-Mas tree that I found tossed out in the garbage years ago.. I flattened it out so it could be positioned on the wall and now permanently hangs over a bookcase I have...it's all decorated and is in the corner of my bedroom which is the Christmas "nook" where I have other X-mas decorations--of course I have to take it down once in awhile to give it a cleaning--but it's nice to have a bit of the Yule/Christmas season all year long
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (189874)
• Boise, Idaho
28 Nov 10
I would hope that people other than myself can see and appreciate what you have put down here. I love a freshly cut tree. I remember one year my ex and I went out and cut our own tree. It smelled great and was huge. One of the most beautiful trees I have had. I would never go buy and silver or even the fake firs and so forth they have now days. A natural Christmas is what I am about and what I want to pass on to my kids.
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
11 Dec 10
LOL--I could never understand the idea of having real trees but then spray paint them silver, or pink, or whatever...like ekkkk. Kind of destroys the whole idea of having a real tree to begin with and tacky looking to boot
1 person likes this
@cerebellum (3863)
• United States
27 Nov 10
I always liked real trees better. I loved the smell, one year I got pine potpourri and it wasn't the same. Now I just put up a 2 foot fiber optic tree and that's it. For the past two years I didn't even want to do that, but my friend that helps me decorate and things said I need a tree and she would take it down and put it up. I decorate, but I have to put the tree in the DR now, to have space to get my walker through, and I don't see it that much. Also I don't get a lot of company so it seems like it is more trouble than it's worth.
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
11 Dec 10
LOL_-even though I live alone and don't have much company either I go whole hog about decorating my apt for Christmas..in fact this weekend I'm going to start putting things up and about...I always decorate my door last after I get the tree in--hoping to get the tree next week sometime.
1 person likes this
@2004cqui (2812)
• United States
27 Nov 10
This a great subject to bring up! My husband and I are always looking for "greener" tips and tricks. On the real tree idea there are a few other things to keep in mind to make the real tree truly environmentally friendly. Taking the family out 50 miles to get the tree, or having it shipped to you burns fossil fuel. Cutting down the tree with a chain saw does as well. How you dispose of it is truly the part that makes it a "greener" practice. It's amazing how much goes to our landfills that should have been recycled or composted. A back yard burning party does not count as "green".
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
11 Dec 10
Yes I try to be as "green" as possible and into recycling. Unfortunately my super isn't. In our garbage room, we have the "regular" garbage bins and only ONE bin for recyclables but ONLY plastics...to be really green we need to have one for plastics, one for glass, one for cans...yet our super doesn't do that. In fact, living in an urban area like the NYC area there doesn't seem to be as much conscientious recycling as there is in country areas
1 person likes this
@pergammano (7682)
• Canada
27 Nov 10
Great discusssion...pye..BUT, dang, just a day too early...as tonight on CTV will be a special on "Tree Farm" Christmas trees...AND the amount of "unregulated pesticides/herbicides" that you will introduce into your home, and the free-use of these on Tree Farms (no laws in place...as they are not ingestible!)
I, too, love a "real" tree..and the benefits on living on the same property for 31 years, is that you cultivate your own...FREE of pesticides/herbicides. 30 years ago, when my son was 1..I planted 10 trees for his birthday (Dec.29) I have arduously pruned and shaped them...as I harvest one, I plant another..so we have been cyclic in our home grown trees, since that time...now that My EX and I do "home share"..I do not have my son home every Xmas..so the off years I donate one to the only "Retirement Home" here and decorate it.
There are NEW to the B.C. area...TWO live Christmas tree companies, that grow ALL sizes, and ALL species...YOU make the choice, they deliver to your home, 3 weeks is the time limit it can be in a warm environment...they then pick it up, after the three weeks and put it into inventory for next year. GUARANTEED, pesticide/herbicide free...and costs $90.00 for three weeks! If I lived in a metropolitan area, with this service available...WOW!
Many of our recyling areas, in Metro Vancouver..will NOT utilize "live trees" for their Municipal composting due to the Chemicals...SADLY, the Fire Departments have controlled burns of your unusable, garbaged live trees!
Still have the link to your wonderful writings...and have re-read several times! I am proud to be on your friend's list...you have wonderful, comprehensive writing talent with a phenomenal choice of topics. YOU GO..girl!
1 person likes this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
11 Dec 10
The Christmas tree farm that I get my tree from is an "organic" type so no pesticides/herbicides are used...I like the idea of ordering one on-line and it's delivered right to my door. There used to be a LOT of places within walking distance to buy a real tree...sadly no more, so ordering a tree is the only way for me...I don't drive so no car.
Three weeks for those trees...LOL...believe it or not I have my real trees up for much longer than that...the trees I get seem to last a long time
Thanks for reading my writings btw....I need to sit down and get writing again...have a great idea for one about the animal shelter systems and the actual "holocaust" that goes on in the high kill shelters
1 person likes this
@pergammano (7682)
• Canada
11 Dec 10
Obviously, your live tree farms, are far more regulated than B.C.'s! I didn't know it was even still manufactured, but the most common pesticide is DDT! There are only TWO CERTIFIED "Organic Tree" farms on the Lower Mainland of B.C., and one of their simple solutions was to grow only indigenous trees.
After reading and re-reading your musings...so many of them I would like to see posted on another site I belong to;Care2...not nearly as effective as FB, but 14 million strong and really CARING!
@Maggiepie (7816)
• United States
29 Nov 10
This is Elic on Maggie's computer.
I don't have a tree, but if I did, it would be fake...
Why?
Because the real ones make me sick.
My parents first got a fake one when I was 10, because always before I was sick every Christmas, and it was the tree.
Of course, any tree is out of the question because my cats would ruin it in short order.
1 person likes this
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
27 Nov 10
Hey pye~I do love the smell of a real Christmas tree, but I
also hate cleaning up all the needles. I have a big artificial
tree that I no longer put up since my cats are climbers and
they would knock it down in a minute. So now I put up my tiny
(pathetic) 2 foot tree every year until it looks too sad and
I buy another one. But, I don't throw it out every year. What
is the sense in buying a fake one if you aren't going to keep
it? If I could get a larger tree and didn't have to deal with
the mess I would get a real tree, but at this point I just
don't have the energy to fight with Star & Luna.
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
27 Nov 10
LOL--in all the years I've had real trees and all the years I've had cats I never had any climber cats and all my real trees would usually be at least 5, 6 or 7 feet tall--they would love to sleep under the tree though as if it were there own private forest. Also to safeguard the tree (just in case), I would tie a string around one section of the trunk of the tree and tie it up to a nail in the wall in back of the tree
1 person likes this
@wiggles18 (2506)
• Canada
27 Nov 10
Real thing is really better for everything, that is until I invent the hologram christmas tree, I call dibs! No stealing ideas here. Haha, just kidding.
Had to go the plastic route this year though, not too happy about it, but hey, could be worse.
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
27 Nov 10
Sorry to hear you had to get a fake tree. I think my family did have a fake tree only once and that was it, never again did we have one
1 person likes this
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
27 Nov 10
Yes those are very good points of view and I like it, but what about countries with scarce pine trees or none at all? Some of my friends have used the same plastic tree for years without buying a new one, although I would like to suggest that people living in this regions (where pine is scarce)to become creative and use tress made from recycled and biodegradable products. Another thing use LED instead of conventional bulbs, just imagine the hit it will emit every time all of us open lights of our trees altogether, god bless all of us and may we all have a Merry Christmas.
2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
28 Nov 10
Yes I think people can become creative perhaps using other types of trees that are more local when pine trees aren't available. Though did you know that one can order Christmas trees on-line? One would have to find a place though that ships internationally and would have to probably order a LOT in advance
1 person likes this
@Ruby3881 (1963)
• Canada
4 Apr 16
I have always preferred real trees to artificial, especially if they are locally sourced. But to be honest, we haven't even bothered with a tree since my oldest were very little. Between kids and our then pet cats, and the lack of space in our tiny homes, having a large tree of any kind just wasn't practical.
We stick to smaller trees (potted or ceramic ones, sometimes, or trees the kids make) and to things like wreaths or boughs of greenery trimmed from living evergreens. Some years we've also made a proper Yule log too.
