The Great Christmas Tree Debate: Is It Better to Buy a Real Tree or a Fake One?
17 December 2019
Popular
Evergreens pictured with foggy sky in Cedarburg, Wisconsin. Dave Michuda / Unsplash
It's the holiday season again, and in the midst of making to-do lists and prepping for festive dinners, some people will once again ponder whether it is better for the environment to buy an artificial Christmas tree or to opt for the real thing.
<p>
It's a good question to ask. We're in the midst of a <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/5401586/canada-national-climate-emergency/" target="_blank">climate emergency</a> and are becoming increasingly aware of our environmental impact.
</p><p>
Many of us are more likely to think about climate change when making purchases through the year. It makes sense to wonder if leaving trees in the ground to continue growing might not make a better contribution to the fight against climate change.
</p>
A Decade to Grow or Keep
<p>A natural tree of average size (2-2.5 metres tall, 10-15 years old) <a href="https://www.carbontrust.com/news/2013/01/christmas-tree-disposal-advice/" target="_blank">has a carbon footprint</a> of about 3.5 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) — about the same as driving a car 14 kilometres.</p><p>This footprint increases dramatically if the tree is sent to landfill. When it decomposes, it will produce methane, a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, and generate a much larger footprint — close to 16 kilograms of CO2e. If the tree is <a href="https://toronto.citynews.ca/2008/01/03/how-to-dispose-of-your-christmas-tree/" target="_blank">composted or recycled</a>, a common practice in many major cities — the environmental footprint remains low.</p><p>By comparison, a <a href="https://www.carbontrust.com/news/2013/01/christmas-tree-disposal-advice/" target="_blank">two-metre tall artificial</a> tree has a carbon footprint of about 40 kilograms CO2e based on the production of the materials alone.</p><p>Different types of plastics are used in artificial tree products. Some, like <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/canadian-tire-artificial-trees-1.5384538" target="_blank">polyvinyl chloride</a>, are very difficult to recycle and should be avoided. Polyethylene trees, which <a href="https://blog.balsamhill.com/b/compare-pvc-polyethylene-christmas-trees/" target="_blank">tend to look more realistic</a>, have higher price tags.</p><p>The vast majority of artificial trees are produced in China, Taiwan and South Korea. Shipping from these distant factories increases the trees' carbon footprint.</p><p>An artificial tree has to be re-used for 10-12 years to match the footprint of a natural tree that is composted at end of life. Even then, recycling the materials in artificial trees is so difficult that it is not common practice. Some <a href="https://www.calgary.ca/UEP/WRS/Pages/What-goes-where/Artificial-Christmas-trees.aspx" target="_blank">old trees can be repurposed</a>, but most artificial products will end up in a landfill.</p>
Burning Trees
<p>This gives ecologically minded Canadians some sense of the impacts of their choice. But other factors are also at play. Real trees are <a href="https://www.narcity.com/news/ca/christmas-trees-in-canada-are-running-low-and-prices-are-rising" target="_blank">becoming scarce and more expensive</a>. In the U.S., the average price of a real tree in 2019 has <a href="https://fortune.com/2019/12/02/christmas-trees-2019/" target="_blank">increased to $78 from $75 in 2018</a>.</p><p>Weather has taken a toll on Christmas trees. In the U.S., hot weather and too much rain are considered contributing factors to a <a href="https://www.today.com/news/tight-supply-christmas-trees-could-mean-higher-prices-t167619" target="_blank">shortage of trees</a>, and wildfires <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/a-wildfire-wiped-out-their-christmas-tree-farm-and-livelihood-now-they-wonder-what-to-do-next/2018/12/21/966080cc-023d-11e9-9122-82e98f91ee6f_story.html" target="_blank">damaged or destroyed some farms</a>. Heat waves in 2017 and 2018 killed <a href="https://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/christmas-tree-shortage/283-682f4617-5af6-42f3-b9b8-575cf8dfc1ba" target="_blank">young seedlings in Oregon</a> and will impact tree supply in years to come.</p><p>In Canada, consumers who want natural trees have been <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/christmas-tree-shortage-lots-face-rising-demand-1.5382621" target="_blank">warned to shop early</a>, as many sellers have limited inventory due to fire, frost and insect damage that has accelerated over recent years.</p><p>Climate change will likely exacerbate these factors and could drive up the price of trees for years to come. Researchers have found that certain pests, like the <a href="https://doi.org/10.4039/tce.2017.41" target="_blank">balsam twig aphid</a>, already a major pest in the Québec Christmas tree industry, will likely increase in a warming climate and harm commercial fir plantations.</p>
Oh, Christmas Tree
<p>Economics has also played a role in tree availability. Today's trees were planted around the time of the Great Recession of 2008.</p><p>The impacts of this economic downturn were far-reaching in the industry. As demand fell during those years, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/02/us/christmas-tree-shortage-demand-supply-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">many growers went out of business</a>. This reduced the number of trees planted and contributed to the scarcity in today's Christmas tree marketplace.</p><p>The Canadian Christmas Tree Growers Association has shrunk dramatically in the past 15 years — from <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/6282405/canada-christmas-trees-shortage/" target="_blank">300 members to about 80 today</a>.</p><p>Is it time to give up on real Christmas trees?</p><p>Holiday trees provide <a href="https://treecanada.ca/blog/why-buying-a-fake-christmas-tree-just-doesnt-cut-it/" target="_blank">wildlife habitat, protect soil, moderate floods and drought, filter air and sequester carbon while they grow</a>. Tree farms also provide local economic benefits that don't come with foreign-made products.</p><p>The changing climate may not mean the end of holiday trees. Studies carried out in the Appalachians suggest that trees at lower elevations may be more likely to suffer from pests and damage as climate change progresses. They also found that tree farms at higher elevations may <a href="http://www.doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2017.05.003" target="_blank">benefit from a longer growing season</a>.</p><p>Research into <a href="https://www.doi.org/10.3390/f9040193" target="_blank">the effects of temperature and precipitation extremes on cone formation</a> may help growers maintain or enhance tree growth in response to changing environmental conditions. Forward-looking Christmas tree farmers may start planting <a href="https://www.acclimatise.uk.com/2017/12/12/hold-on-to-your-christmas-trees-climate-impacts-on-the-seasons-favourite-plant/" target="_blank">a greater diversity of tree species</a> to weather the impacts of climate change.</p><p>It is clear, however, that holiday trees face increasing risks from a changing climate and not all producers will be able to adopt cutting-edge methods; some will not choose the right trees.</p><p>Most Christmas tree operations in Canada are family businesses without deep pockets, and the costs of relocating tree farms to more friendly climes or higher elevations may put others out of business. The cost of a Christmas tree will likely continue to rise in the future.</p>
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<em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-great-christmas-tree-debate-is-it-better-to-buy-a-real-tree-or-a-fake-one-128508" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Conversation</a>.</em>
</p><script async="async" data-counter="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128508/count?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" id="theconversation_tracker_hook" src="https://theconversation.com/javascripts/lib/content_tracker_hook.js" type="text/javascript"></script>From Your Site Articles
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Don’t Stress About What Kind of Christmas Tree to Buy, but Reuse Artificial Trees and Compost Natural Ones
11 December 2018
Popular
Tetra Images / DigitalVision / Getty Images
By Bert Cregg
Environmentally conscious consumers often ask me whether a real Christmas tree or an artificial one is the more sustainable choice. As a horticulture and forestry researcher, I know this question is also a concern for the Christmas tree industry, which is wary of losing market share to artificial trees.
<p>
And they have good reason: Of the 48.5 million Christmas trees Americans purchased in 2017,
<a href="http://www.realchristmastrees.org/dnn/News-Media/Industry-Statistics/Consumer-Survey" target="_blank">45 percent were artificial, and that share is growing</a>. Many factors can influence this choice, but the bottom line is that both real and artificial Christmas trees have negligible environmental impacts. Which option "wins" in terms of carbon footprint depends entirely on assumptions about how long consumers would keep an artificial tree versus how far they would drive each year to purchase a real tree.
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<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODk5MzI0NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNDM5MzA0M30.1vDqCo-vuA8GPfwxmV4rdWh3xPz7juZZmfwi1MeYXmI/img.jpg?width=980" id="376a5" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="80b0b592ffd732361d906b96b9149ab3" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Cutting the 2018 Capitol Christmas Tree in Oregon's Willamette National Forest for delivery by truck to the National Mall in Washington, DC. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit..."><a href="https://flic.kr/p/QCou49" target="_blank">USFS / Pacific Northwest</a></small>
</p><h2>From Seedling to Wood Chipper</h2><p>
Many consumers believe real Christmas trees are harvested from wild forest stands and that this process contributes to deforestation. In fact, the vast majority of Christmas trees are grown on farms for that express purpose.
</p><p>
To estimate the total impact of something like a Christmas tree, researchers use a method called life cycle assessment to develop a "cradle to grave" accounting of inputs and outputs required to produce, use and dispose of it. For natural Christmas trees, this covers everything from planting seedlings to harvesting the trees and disposing of them, including equipment use, fertilizer and pesticide applications, and water consumption for irrigation.
</p><p>
Life cycle assessments often will also estimate a system's carbon footprint. Fuel use is the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Christmas tree production. Using 1 gallon of gas or diesel to power a tractor or delivery truck releases 20 to 22 pounds (9 to 10 kilograms) of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
</p><p>
On the positive side, Christmas trees absorb and store carbon from the atmosphere as they grow, which helps to offset emissions from operations. Carbon represents about 50 percent of the dry weight of the wood in a tree at harvest. According to recent estimates, Christmas tree-sized conifers store
<a href="http://journal.ashspublications.org/content/138/1/3.short" target="_blank">roughly 20 pounds of carbon dioxide in their above-ground tissue</a> and likely store <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2006.10.020" target="_blank">similar amounts below ground in their roots</a>.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d3f60ce2f33c1de89d04cafbfce0b731"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jTZXmqx60DE?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Dan Cassens: Starting Your Own Christmas Tree Farm</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">
<a href="https://youtu.be/jTZXmqx60DE" target="_blank">youtu.be</a>
</small>
</p><p>
However, using 1 gallon of gasoline produces about the same amount of carbon dioxide, so if a family drives 10 miles each way to get their real tree, they likely have already offset the carbon sequestered by the tree. Buying a tree closer to home or at a tree lot along your daily commute can reduce or eliminate this impact.<br>
</p><p>
And natural trees have other impacts. In 2009, Scientific American specifically
<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/greenwashing-green-energy-hoffman/" target="_blank">called out the Christmas tree industry for greenwashing</a>, because growers' press releases touted carbon uptake from Christmas tree plantations while ignoring pesticide use and carbon dioxide emissions from plantation management, harvesting and shipping.
</p><h2>Is Synthetic Better?</h2><p>
Artificial trees have a different set of impacts. Although many people think shipping trees from factories in China takes a lot of energy, ocean shipping is actually very efficient. The largest energy use in artificial trees is in manufacturing.
</p><p>
Producing the polyvinyl chloride and metals that are used to make artificial trees generates greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants. China is working to
<a href="https://www.chemanager-online.com/en/topics/strategy/china-s-anti-pollution-clampdown" target="_blank">reduce pollution from its chemical industry</a>, but this may drive up the prices of those materials and the goods made from them.
</p><p>
Moreover, to consider sustainability from a
<a href="http://www.thwink.org/sustain/glossary/ThreePillarsOfSustainability.htm" target="_blank">broader perspective</a>, production of real Christmas trees supports local communities and economies in the U.S., whereas purchasing artificial trees principally supports manufacturers in China.
</p><h2>Going Head to Head</h2><p>
Recently the American Christmas Tree Association, which represents artificial tree manufacturers, commissioned a life cycle assessment
<a href="https://8nht63gnxqz2c2hp22a6qjv6-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/ACTA_2018_LCA_Study.pdf" target="_blank">comparing real and artificial Christmas trees</a>. The analysis considered environmental aspects of sustainability, but did not examine social or economic impacts.
</p><p>
The report concluded that the environmental "break-even" point between a real Christmas tree and an artificial tree was 4.7 years. In other words, consumers would need to keep artificial trees for five years to offset the environmental impact of purchasing a real tree each year.
</p><p>
One major shortcoming of this analysis was that it ignored the contribution of tree roots—which farmers typically leave in the ground after harvest—to soil carbon storage. This omission could have a significant impact on the break-even analysis, given that increasing soil organic matter by just one percent can
<a href="http://www.journal-advocate.com/business/sterling-agriculture/ci_31690958/can-soil-organic-matter-increase-at-an-annual" target="_blank">sequester 11,600 pounds of carbon per acre</a>.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="51853" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="XU974X1576663192"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1072144318176116745" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Keep Smyrna Beautiful is hosting "Bring One For The Chipper", the annual Christmas tree recycling program on 1/5/19… https://t.co/CrjXkVI8Y6</div> — Keep Smyrna Beautiful (@Keep Smyrna Beautiful)<a href="https://twitter.com/KSBSmyrna/statuses/1072144318176116745">1544454099.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><h2>Reuse or Recycle Your Tree</h2><p>
Consumers can't affect how farmers grow their live trees or how manufacturers produce artificial versions, but they can control what happens after Christmas to the trees they purchase. For artificial trees, that means reusing them as many times as possible. For natural trees, it means recycling them.
</p><p>
This is essential to optimize the carbon footprint of a real tree. Grinding used Christmas trees and using them for mulch returns organic matter to the soil, and can contribute to building soil carbon. Many public works departments across the United States routinely collect and chip used Christmas trees after the holidays. If local tree recycling is not available, trees can be chipped and added to compost piles. They also can be
<a href="http://www.pickyourownchristmastree.org/disposing.php" target="_blank">placed in backyards or ponds to provide bird or fish habitat</a>.
</p><p>
In contrast, if a used tree is tossed into a bonfire, all of its carbon content is immediately returned to the air as carbon dioxide. This also applies to culled trees on tree farms. And if used trees are placed in landfills, their carbon content will ultimately return to atmosphere as methane because of the way materials buried in landfills break down. Methane is a greenhouse gas
<a href="https://unfccc.int/process/transparency-and-reporting/greenhouse-gas-data/greenhouse-gas-data-unfccc/global-warming-potentials" target="_blank">21 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a century</a>, so this is the most environmentally harmful way to dispose of a used tree.
</p><p>
All kinds of factors influence choices about Christmas trees, from fresh trees' scent to family traditions, travel plans and the desire to support farmers or buy locally. Regardless of your choice, the key to relieving environmental angst is planning to reuse or recycle your tree. Then you can focus on gifts to put under it.
</p><p>
<em>Reposted with permission from our media associate </em><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-stress-about-what-kind-of-christmas-tree-to-buy-but-reuse-artificial-trees-and-compost-natural-ones-108230" target="_blank">The Conversation</a></em><em>.</em>
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