HOW ECO IS MY CHRISTMAS TREE?
Real or fake, choosing the ‘greenest’ tree is trickier than it should be
A fake plastic tree can look great, and, if you commit to reusing it, can be reasonably ecofriendly. It does take a lot of energy to manufacture one, but keeping it for a number of years will prevent more trees from being chopped down. Choose a traditional shape and colour so it will never go out of fashion, and avoid integrated LED lighting as it’s hard to repair. Alternatively, invest in a solid wood or ply tree that slots together to create a tree skeleton – try Not On The High Street. These look striking and can easily be recycled.
Live potted trees are a great ecofriendly option and if cared for will last years, though you may need to plant them in the garden when they get bigger. Choose UK-grown varieties such as Blue Spruce or Nordmann and acclimatise them slowly – sudden changes in temperature can harm trees so, after buying, leave the tree outside for a few days, bringing it in at night to protect it from the cold. Once inside, keep it away from radiators and water regularly. As many as eight million real Christmas trees are felled each year in the UK, and transporting and disposing of the cut trees has a huge impact on the environment. The Carbon Trust says each of the two million cut Christmas trees that are chucked in landfill have a carbon footprint of 16kg CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent). A tree that’s recycled properly produces just 3.5kg CO2e. Most councils now offer a kerbside recycling scheme but ask around as there may be more ingenious uses for your old tree – in Merseyside, for instance, they’re used to protect sand dunes, while in West Yorkshire they’re made into safety barriers around a reservoir.
As for which real cut tree to buy, Harry Brightwell, secretary at the British Christmas Tree Growers Association (bctga.co.uk) suggests looking for the BCTGA or FSC logo. BCTGA members are subject to strict rules, including undertaking environmental reports on the area and ensuring that harvesting is respectful of the birds and wildlife that use the trees as their home. The Forestry Commission also sells sustainably grown local trees. Finally, think about renting a tree! A perfect potted tree is delivered to your door for the festive period and collected again after New Year. Forever Green Christmas Trees (forevergreen-christmas.co.uk) supplies south Essex, and as spokesperson Jayne Rose explains, ‘When our trees grow too big, they’re donated to forests where they’ll continue to provide habitats for wildlife.’