Chooseday’s Choice! ~ Artifical or locally grown Christmas trees?
Where does YOUR energy go?
Although plastic Christmas trees are reusable from year to year, real trees are the more sustainable choice. Plastic trees are made mostly of plastic and use up resources in both the manufacture and shipping. While artificial trees theoretically last forever, research shows that they are typically discarded when repeated use makes them less attractive. Discarded artificial trees are then sent to landfills, where their plastic content makes them last forever.
Live trees, on the other hand, are a renewable resource grown on tree farms, that are replanted regularly. They contribute to air quality while growing, and almost ninety percent are recycled into mulch. Live trees are usually locally grown and sold, saving both transportation costs and added air pollution.
You Choose!
Visit your local garden centre and buy a live Irish grown tree in a large pot. This will allow you to reuse the tree for a few years without having to plant or re-pot the tree. If you have a spacious garden the tree can be planted out after Christmas where it can be enjoyed for many years and also help the environment and reducing our carbon footprint.
Don’t forget to go to your local council’s website after Christmas for details on tree recycling and collection.
After agonising over the decision I switched to an artificial last year (and blogged about why) although I’m a huge fan or real trees. Given that we’re a family of hoarders I imagine it will be handed down the generations so have no problem with my decision now 🙂
We’re in the same boat Dee 🙂 We bought a small artificial tree years ago when we bought our first house, used it for several years and then made the decision to try real ones for a change. That lasted a few years and then we decided to buy a new larger artificial tree. We are also a family of hoarders so the first artificial tree that we bought many years ago has been handed down to my daughter who loves it as it brings back memories of all her childhood Christmases spent at home 🙂