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Advent calendars are being bought, the weather is frightful and the fire is officially delightful – that’s right, it’s Christmastime.
Even the biggest grinch you know should be able to accept that the run-up to Christmas has now begun, and with it comes the time to decorate your Christmas tree.
But with the pressure on for all of us to lower our carbon footprint, is there a right or a wrong type of Christmas tree to get when it comes to looking after the environment?
Are plastic Christmas trees bad for the planet?
This isn’t a question with an easy answer.
While artificial Christmas trees are reusable, they’re not recyclable and, as the Carbon Trust has it, those fake trees have more than twice the carbon footprint than that of real trees which end up in landfills, and more than ten times the carbon footprint of the ones which end up burnt.
This is no small matter, as the collective carbon footprint of throwing organic Christmas trees in the garbage amounts to approximately 100,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases each year.
That means you’d have to use your artificial tree for at least 10 Christmases in total if you’d like it to have a smaller carbon footprint than a real tree.
Darran Messem, Managing Director of Certification at the Carbon Trust, has previously said: ‘A real pine or fir tree naturally absorbs CO2 and releases oxygen. The best thing you can do at Christmas is keep a tree alive and breathing. Disposing of a tree by composting produces CO2 and methane.
‘An artificial tree has a higher carbon footprint than a natural one because of the energy intensive production processes involved. By far the best option is a potted tree which, with care, can be replanted after the festive season and re-used year after year.’
Christmas tree retailer Pines and Needles recently banned the sale of fake Christmas trees from their stores.
Sam Lyle, founder of Pines and Needles, told Metro.co.uk: ‘Fake trees, because plastic is made with oil, have a bad carbon footprint and because they’re a mix of metals and plastic they can’t be recycled.
‘If you really really want to buy a plastic tree then a second-hand one is best, whether you inherit one from family or buy one online.
‘Lastly, if the customer really doesn’t want a plastic tree but also doesn’t want to chop one down, they can buy a potted tree and look after it til the following year.’
If you’ve got an organic Christmas tree, to get rid of it responsibly, Sam recommends: ‘Chipping or composting them is the most environmentally friendly way of disposing of your tree.
‘Some councils will collect and compost them, or you can take them to the tip and put in garden waste.’
Each council has different rules when it comes to the collection and recycling of Christmas trees, so before you put your tree out you should double-check yours.
Sam also pointed out that Pines and Needles ‘offer a collection service where the trees are chipped and then go to places like London Zoo where it’s perfect bedding for porcupines, and also some goes to parks and playgrounds. After that the next best is burning it.’
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