Real Christmas trees better choice for environment than artificial trees

Whether your family buys a fake tree or visits a local farm to buy a real tree, it’s important to understand the environmental significance of your choice.

A Virginia Tech expert, who is a specialist for growing Christmas trees, offers his insight into the debate and explains the benefits of going with a real tree.

“A farm-grown, real Christmas tree has the upper hand,” said Kyle Peer from the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at Virginia Tech. “While they’re growing, real Christmas trees absorb carbon dioxide and other gasses and emit fresh oxygen.”

Christmas trees are grown on farms like any other crop and farmers plant new seedlings every spring to replace those harvested.

“Approximately 350 million conifer trees are growing on Christmas tree farms in the U.S. alone,” said Peer. “These trees would not exist if not planted by Christmas tree farmers. Christmas tree farms stabilize the soil, protect water supplies, and support complex ecosystems. And, of course, farm-grown Christmas trees can be recycled, whereas fake trees cannot.”

Unlike real trees, artificial trees are a petroleum-based product that are manufactured primarily in Chinese factories, according to Peer.

Around 85 percent of fake trees in the U.S. are imported from China, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

This issue is especially concerning due to China’s weak enforcement of environmental regulations. The polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, used in most artificial trees has also been boycotted by many environmental groups.

“The average family uses a fake tree for only six to nine years before throwing it away, where it will remain in a landfill indefinitely,” said Peer. “That’s a pretty hefty, long-term environmental burden.”

“Since real trees are biodegradable, they can be recycled or reused for mulch. Be sure to check with the local pick-up or drop-off locations in your local area to see where you can best recycle your tree,” said Peer.

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