Christmas Tree Climate Impact
Bohn is a Junior at Madison West High School and is Wisconsin State Director for YEPT.
‘Tis the season of frivolous spending, overflowing landfills and corporate advertising. The holidays have garnered a reputation for being a time of wasteful overconsumption. In recent years public awareness has begun to shift and respond to this overconsumption, but many aspects of the holiday season’s toll on the planet remain largely forgotten. Perhaps one of the most overlooked climate change contributors during the season of cheer is the humble Christmas tree. Enshrined in tradition and nostalgia, the Christmas tree’s impact is rarely questioned or examined, its complex footprint often ignored. Here’s what the life of your Christmas tree looks like through a sustainability lens.
The impact of the tree begins well before the start of the holidays, with the way the tree is grown. Because the goal is to grow as many trees as quickly as possible, heavy use of pesticides, fertilizers and other harmful chemicals is difficult to avoid. These chemicals poison not only the land they are scattered on, but also wherever the runoff carries them. Fertilizer also sends greenhouse gases like nitrous oxide into the atmosphere. Depending on a farm’s practices, the footprint from irrigation and operating tractors can also be significant.
Growing Christmas trees can, however, offer certain environmental benefits. As the tree grows, it pulls carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, locking the greenhouse gas into its own cells or sending it into the soil. In supporting a Christmas tree farm with your purchase you may also be contributing to reforestation by funding them with the ability to grow more trees.
Photo by Irina Iriser, courtesy of Pexels.
The next major blow to the planet occurs when it comes time to chop down the tree. Whether you purchase your tree from the hardware store or chop it down yourself at a local farm, there are bound to be significant emissions involved. Trees that are grown out-of-state and transported to the store have the heftiest emissions; the process involves helicopters swooping in to pick up felled trees, as well as large trucks transporting them throughout the country. Even purchasing from a local farm has its impact, too. The emissions from millions of families driving to pick up a Christmas tree add up.
The lifecycle of a Christmas tree doesn’t end once it reaches the living room. The way it is discarded has an enormous impact, too. Many of the arguments that real Christmas trees are better for the environment than artificial ones stem from the fact that artificial trees will inevitably be sent to the landfill, while real trees have a few end-of-life options. The worst-case scenario is for a real Christmas tree to be sent to a landfill, where it will release methane and carbon. Another less-than-ideal option is for a tree to be burned. When a tree burns, the carbon it has sequestered will be released and many of its potential benefits lost. Allowing the tree to rot is better, as it will eventually biodegrade, but this can be a slow process and can only occur under the right conditions; if left in a cramped space like a landfill, it will only release greenhouse gases. If it is available, recycling a Christmas tree is the best option for the climate. After the tree is broken down into mulch, it can be used in places like gardens and public parks.
The footprint of a Christmas tree is largely circumstantial and difficult to generalize. While purchasing a real tree can offer certain benefits, doing so can also come at a steep cost to the environment.
So what can be done about an aspect so central to many families’ holiday celebrations, so entrenched in tradition? Consider whether your Christmas tree is there because you cherish it, or if you’ve merely purchased one out of habit. If you find that you’re indifferent to the tree, consider skipping it next year. However, if your Christmas tree tradition is important to you, instead of abolishing the tree altogether, consider ways to make the process more sustainable. If it’s well-sourced and reused year after year, an artificial tree can be better for the planet than purchasing a real one each year.
If having a living tree each year is non-negotiable, try to source your tree sustainably. Search for a Christmas tree nearer to your home to reduce transportation emissions, and aim to buy from a farm that prioritizes sustainable farming practices and a long-term relationship with the land. When you chop down a tree, invest in planting another one through initiatives like the US Forest Service’s Plant-a-Tree program.
When you’re done with your Christmas tree, recycle it. Many cities have Christmas tree recycling programs that will process your tree into mulch to be used in parks around the city. They may offer curbside pickup, drop-off sites or a combination of the two. Check to see if your city has a similar program.
The Christmas tree may be a pinnacle of the holiday season, but it is also a quintessential representation of the habits we overlook, the things that are so blatant that they become invisible through their very omnipresence. It is only in examining these ubiquities that we can become our most climate-conscious selves.
