How Green is Your Christmas Tree?

Some people will be making the choice between an artificial and a 'real' tree for the first time and for most the considerations may well be cost, needle-dropping and reusability. Most towns having a public tree will probably opt for a real tree, since these are usually better adapted to outside spaces. Famously, Poole has decided upon an artificial tree this year which has caused quite a debate locally. Interestingly some of the responses received have claimed that the tree is more eco-friendly than a real one. Is this true? I thought I would consider some of the arguments for and against this claim.

As with so many issues it rather depends on what you consider and what you don't. The green claims of real and artificial trees tend to focus on the worst aspects of the other type of production while ignoring the issues of their own type.

Producers of artificial trees will point to the fact that their trees are reusable and many householders will use the same tree for many years. While that is an indisputable fact, I cannot help but think that this is the only eco-friendly aspect of having an artificial tree. When you stop and consider how artificial trees are made, many of the constituent materials can hardly claim to be 'green'. A large percentage of trees use metal wire constructions covered in plastic materials used for tinsel or foliage effects. The construction of the trees make them very difficult to separate the various components and realistically this makes them very unattractive to recycle. Add into the mix various other effects such as polyurethane snow, already attached decorations and LED/ fibre optic lighting and what you end up with is a product that while it may be durable, is most likely going to be disposed in a landfill site at the end of its life cycle. Many real Christmas trees don't fare any better as far as disposal is concerned. Large numbers of these will also end up being disposed of in landfill sites, taking up valuable space and contributing to methane emissions as they rot down.

Producers of real Christmas trees will point to the fact that artificial trees use valuable fossil fuels during the manufacturing process. Proponents of artificial trees counter by arguing that pesticide use during the growing of real trees probably contributes just as much to fossil fuel use. While real tree growers will replace cut trees with new seedlings, many of these farms are monoculture plantations contributing little to biodiversity. Yet during the growing of Christmas trees they probably do act as a useful sink for carbon dioxide as the trees take this from the atmosphere to help them grow.

All in all, this is probably as complicated an issue as other similar comparisons such as real nappies, and hand-drying methods. The best answer is probably to source a pot-grown tree that can be put out in the garden after each Christmas and brought back in year after year. Good luck finding one though '“ they are not as easy to come by as they used to be!