Eco Christmas Shopping

Have an Eco-Friendly Christmas When You Recycle Your Tree

The National Christmas Tree Association’s website describes how some communities are finding unique ways to recycle Christmas trees. Here are some established programs for discarding Christmas trees in an environmentally friendly manner.

• A pharmaceutical company in Toronto, Ontario, has been working to make a flu vaccine out of the extract from discarded Christmas tree needles.
• The state of Georgia’s Christmas tree recycling program, called “Bring One for the Chipper,” has turned trees into mulch used for playgrounds.
• Following Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, Gulf Shores, Alabama, used recycled Christmas tree to rebuild the dunes that had been wiped out in the storm.
• The state of Louisiana is losing its coastal wetlands, which provide protection against hurricanes and a safe home for fish. To save these wetlands, bundles of recycled Christmas trees are dropped from helicopters into the marshes. The Christmas tree bundles create tree fences that fight erosion and protect the wetlands.
• Cook County, Illinois, has used recycled Christmas trees to build habitats and nesting structures for birds that have been forced out of their natural habitat because of development. These Christmas tree nesting structures provide homes for pairs of great blue herons, great egrets, cormorants and black-crowned night herons.
• Christmas trees in San Diego, California, are turned into compost, mulch, or wood chips that is given away to residents. This project keeps the city landfills from filling up with discarded Christmas trees.
• In New Hampshire, the Fish and Game Department has built fish-friendly habitats using recycled Christmas trees. The trees are dropped into lakes to provide a place for fish to hide.
• Hikers on the trails at Dunbar Cave State Park in Tennessee, walk on mulch from recycled Christmas trees. About 1,000 Christmas trees are mulched after each Christmas season.
• In Tomahawk, Wisconsin, recycled Christmas trees have been converted to fuel. The Packaging Corporation of America has used ground-up Christmas trees to make a fuel that powers the boilers at their pulp and paper mill plant.
• Recycled Christmas trees have been used to create habitats for small fish and animals at Lake Oroville Spillway cove in California. The Boy Scouts collected the trees for this project.
• In Reno, Nevada, Christmas trees have been recycled and chipped into mulch. Throughout the year, the mulch was used in park, river and open space projects to control weeds and soil erosion and to beautify the spaces.
• In Burlington, Vermont, recycled trees have been chipped and burned to generate electricity. Power companies used the electricity to provide power to thousands of homes in the area.

How to Recycle Christmas Trees

Maybe you aren’t aware of any recycling programs for Christmas trees near your home and you’re wondering how to recycle your Christmas tree. Try contacting local trash collection agencies or regional extension agencies; these can be a good starting point to inquire about recycling programs.

The Earth911 or the National Christmas Tree Association websites have information about recycling Christmas trees. These websites also have suggestions on how to set up a Christmas tree recycling program in your area. This holiday season, consider recycling your Christmas tree.

Source: Suite101