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Tuesday, 11 December 2012

What is the Greenest Christmas Tree Option?


This is a dilemma faced by so many of us coming up to Christmas. Is it best to have an artificial tree that can be pulled out year after year, or a real tree? In the UK 8 million Christmas trees are sold during the Christmas season and the number of real trees is growing year on year. Can this be good?
Christmas trees are grown in the UK as a sustainable crop. Approximately 40 million trees are grown in the UK absorbing 50,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Provided you are able to buy from a local grower this has to be good news.
Another alternative is a pot grown tree. We have one of these at Muddy Carrot HQ. We bought it 10 years ago and had it in the house over Christmas, it was small but perfectly formed. After Christmas time we all took turns in digging a hole and planted it within view of our window so we still enjoy it now.
It is now large and gorgeous. It has withstood the harsh storms that so many trees have struggled to establish themselves against, and we still love it and light it up every year. It somehow connects our Christmases. OK this is not practical solution for all, and we could not bring it in year on year. We do often have an indoor tree as well, but we love our live Christmas tree.
How green the solution you choose depends not just on the care with which you source but equally on the care with which you dispose of the tree after Christmas. 
Official figures show that most trees go into landfill at the end of the festive season and yet they can so easily be recycled. They are ideally suited to composting and wood chipping that could provide nutrients for depleted soil.
Most councils offer a tree recycling service and have the capability of turning your lovely tree into valuable compost. So this Christmas when you are thinking what tree to get think also about how you intend to dispose of it. It would be a great way to start 2013 on a green note…

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