It is an age-old Christmas debate, to go with a real or fake Christmas tree. While both bring us the Christmas spirit, they also bring potential environmental impacts.
So, which tree is truly the "greenest"? The answer is not as clear-cut as one may think. To find out a fake and real tree's carbon footprint, you look at its life cycle from beginning to end.
Starting at the beginning, a fake tree produces a large carbon footprint at the start of production.
John Pelak with the Arizona State Forestry says fake trees "start as petroleum-based plastics on a metal skeleton and those have their own ecological considerations."
Those ecological considerations include a carbon footprint of roughly 88 lbs. for a 6.5-foot tree—about the same as burning nearly 4.5 gallons of gasoline, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
Additionally, 85% of fake trees are imported into the U.S. from China, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
On the other hand, a real tree has a negative carbon footprint at birth. This is due to photosynthesis. Through photosynthesis, the tree takes in carbon dioxide and produces oxygen for us to breathe leading to that negative footprint.
Once the tree is cut and transported, the real trees start their carbon footprint. This is why it is important to shop or cut a tree locally.
It may sound contradictory to the common belief that cutting a tree is bad, in reality, it can help if done properly.
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Pelak explained, "Those Christmas tree permits will ask you to cut in areas that are higher density. We are seeing an area that has too many trees when it comes to fire risk when it comes to the actual health of the trees, and when it comes to resilient forests. They don't have the nutrients they need to survive."
Therefore, getting a permit to cut a Christmas tree at a local forest helps foresters manage the forest from overcrowding.
However, on the back end, it is important to recycle or allow your real Christmas tree to biodegrade. This allows you to get the greenest life out of the tree.
Fake trees do gain some ground when you look at the ability to reuse them, unlike a real tree. However, according to the University of Waterloo, "you’d need to reuse it for more than 20 years to balance out the footprint."
If you are looking to part ways with your fake tree, Pelak recommends that you find a way to part it out to recyclable parts of the tree or consider donating the tree to someone who may not have one and needs one.
Many fake trees end up in landfills and can last hundreds of years because "those metals are non-biodegradable or they are taking an extensive amount of time to break down," according to Pelak.
When trying to solve which tree is the most "green", it comes down to several factors. However, Forester Pelak stated, "I do think when it comes to a properly managed real tree you can end up with a longer life to the green value of that product."
