While getting ready to deck the halls and set up the Christmas tree this year, you may have wondered if cutting down a natural tree or purchasing a synthetic re-usable tree made of plastic is healthier for the environment. It is a bit tricky, but it looks like one has the other by a hair. We have all heard of trees absorbing carbon dioxide and storing it in their branches, roots, and needles to help reduce climate change. Cutting down Christmas trees is no different; therefore, it may appear to be a poor choice.
Christmas tree cultivation, on the other hand, appears to have some environmental benefits. It takes ten years for a Christmas tree to reach a height of 1.8 meters (6 feet). Trees will act as an animal playground and “suck up” carbon from the atmosphere over the next several years. According to the US National Christmas Tree Association, one to three seedlings were planted for each Christmas tree collected the following spring. The Environment Conservancy states, “This means more trees to battle climate change and give more important benefits for people and nature, such as clean air and water, wildlife habitat, and good soil.”
“Science suggests that one of the most effective ways to maintain forests is to use them judiciously. Our forests can generate renewable resources like Christmas trees and other wood-made items when they are managed properly.” On the other side, there are concerns about how Christmas trees grow, particularly the extensive use of pesticides and the possibility for natural ecosystems to be displaced to make room for plantations.
If you do decide on a real tree, it is better to choose one from a local provider to save the carbon emissions that come with shipping. When it comes to genuine trees, disposal is equally crucial. Its environmental impact will be greater if it is disposed of in a landfill, as the decomposing tree would release methane, a strong greenhouse gas.
Although the tree can only restore to the atmosphere the carbon it took out in the first instance, incinerating the tree would release carbon dioxide and other pollutants into the air. The easiest way to dispose of a tree is to shred it and make it into wood chips or mulch. Nevertheless, about manufactured trees. Artificial trees’ ardent supporters contend that they are reused year after year. True as it may be, artificial trees have a significant drawback in that they are constructed of plastic.
Polyvinyl chloride is frequently used to make fake trees (PVC). While this substance is tough, it is also one of the most harmful to the environment of all plastics. PVC may generate harmful pollutants in the form of dioxins, which accumulate in the bodies of animals higher up the food chain due to its high chlorine concentration. PVC is very difficult to recycle, and it is frequently found up in landfills, where it will remain for decades. Furthermore, the carbon impact of a plastic tree is larger than that of a genuine tree. A fake tree emits about 40 kg of greenhouse gases, which is more than double that of a genuine tree if it ends up in a landfill and more than ten times that of a real tree that burnt.
There is a good possibility your artificial Christmas tree has traveled quite a distance before arriving at your home. China produces up to 80% of all artificial trees on the globe. A significant quantity of carbon emissions will emit when being delivered or flown throughout the world. If you already have an artificial tree, the greatest thing you can do is keep it and use it for many years. So there you have it: genuine trees edge out their synthetic counterparts by a razor-thin margin. Just make sure you do not bring any unwanted hitchhikers with you when you bring them inside.
