The Christmas tree is one of the most globally recognized symbols for the Christmas holidays. It's usually a family tradition to gather together pick, the exact perfect tree, fidget with it until it's as upright and straight in the stand as one can make it and then decorate it. The untangling of the lights, the placing of each ornament in precisely the right spot on precisely the right branch, tossing tinsel joyously are all a part of the tradition.
For a month, possibly more, the tree will stay up, it's lights a warm glow in the evening. Slowly presents will begin to fill the space beneath it, small needles will fall from the branches, and finally that glorious morning when everyone gathers 'round and opens their gifts. The tree may or may not stay up long after that fateful morning.
What happens to the tree after all the tinsel, ornaments, and lights come down, are packed away, and stored? Too often that beloved symbol gets tossed to the curbside to be carried away by the waste management employees who work tirelessly to keep our neighborhoods clean. This year, consider recycling your Christmas tree.
One of the big questions is why you should recycle your Christmas tree rather than just allow it to be taken away to a land fill. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website, "landfills are the largest human-related source of methane (a greenhouse gas) in the U.S., accounting for 34 percent of all methane emissions." 1
So what does this have to do with your Christmas tree? Reading further the EPA site details that, "Methane is generated in landfills and open dumps as waste decomposes under anaerobic (without oxygen) conditions. The amount of methane created depends on the quantity and moisture content of the waste and the design and management practices at the site." Since the Christmas tree is organic, and has been kept 'alive' through the use of the water trough it's placed in to keep it green and full over the Christmas holidays it's full of water and sap creating the conditions in which methane is produced in landfills.
For a month, possibly more, the tree will stay up, it's lights a warm glow in the evening. Slowly presents will begin to fill the space beneath it, small needles will fall from the branches, and finally that glorious morning when everyone gathers 'round and opens their gifts. The tree may or may not stay up long after that fateful morning.
What happens to the tree after all the tinsel, ornaments, and lights come down, are packed away, and stored? Too often that beloved symbol gets tossed to the curbside to be carried away by the waste management employees who work tirelessly to keep our neighborhoods clean. This year, consider recycling your Christmas tree.
One of the big questions is why you should recycle your Christmas tree rather than just allow it to be taken away to a land fill. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website, "landfills are the largest human-related source of methane (a greenhouse gas) in the U.S., accounting for 34 percent of all methane emissions." 1
So what does this have to do with your Christmas tree? Reading further the EPA site details that, "Methane is generated in landfills and open dumps as waste decomposes under anaerobic (without oxygen) conditions. The amount of methane created depends on the quantity and moisture content of the waste and the design and management practices at the site." Since the Christmas tree is organic, and has been kept 'alive' through the use of the water trough it's placed in to keep it green and full over the Christmas holidays it's full of water and sap creating the conditions in which methane is produced in landfills.
- Where to recycle your Christmas tree
- Why you should recycle Christmas trees
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