Want to create a sustainable Christmas and holiday season leap with a beautiful Christmas tree substitute?

We have you covered with a plethora of ecological choices, such as a library tree, wooden plank tree, rosemary tree, and wall tree!

It may be difficult to make sustainable selections, especially during the hectic holiday season, which is why our team set out to discover some eco-friendly Christmas trees that are both fun and distinctive!

The holiday season is here in full force! Along with twinkling lights dotting the streets and the aroma of chestnuts roasting in the air, the season also brings with it sustainability dilemmas.

How can you provide thoughtful presents that reflect your values? And how can you make your house seem merry without contributing to the Christmas waste?

How Many Christmas Trees Are Harvested Annually?

Have you ever wondered how many Christmas trees are harvested annually? The stats are astounding… On a global scale, approximately 120 million Christmas trees are cut down each year.

Considering it takes an average of 7-8 years for a Christmas tree to mature, around 1 billion Christmas trees are now growing somewhere on the earth.

This is a substantial amount of land utilized for Christmas tree production. And there is some good news: Obviously, blossoming Christmas trees also convert carbon into oxygen. And the cultivation of these trees generates several employment opportunities.

However, tree farms are not exactly the most desirable habitat for animals. In addition, all of these trees will eventually be taken down. Consequently, it’s fantastic that there are so many eco-friendly alternatives to the classic Christmas tree.

Rent One

If cutting down a Christmas tree isn’t your thing, you don’t want the responsibility of caring for a potted tree, and you don’t want to stand in the cold to decorate an outside tree, there are countless firms that rent Christmas trees. 

They will deliver the Christmas tree and remove it after the holidays. No bother! Rentable trees are not accessible everywhere, so you will need to conduct research to see what is available in your area.

Library Christmas Tree

A Christmas tree made of books is the ideal ornament for any bibliophile. This one-of-a-kind tree is certain to spark conversation and may be personalized to suit the preferences of any book enthusiast.

This craft does not require glue, tape, or nails, only time and imagination. You will need a sturdy platform, string lights, and around twenty large and ten little books. 

Choose books of various sizes and hues to create a uniform appearance. Begin by forming a circle with the large books on the ground. Then, stack the smaller volumes on top of one another while tilting them inwards to form a pyramid. 

Add some last embellishments, such as lights, garlands, and a tree topper, when you are completed.

The Bottle Tree

During the holidays, you may likely observe a greater number of empty bottles than normal. But instead of discarding them immediately, you may create an entire “tree” out of them! 

The tree may grow as large or as tiny as you choose, based on the number of bottles you have available. 

Even better, you can gather bottles from your area and construct a massive green bottle tree. In addition, it serves as a timely reminder to recycle and reuse over the holiday season. Hooray for that!

Unorthodox Christmas Tree

A Christmas tree made of driftwood is an eco-friendly way to decorate your house for the holidays. You need not even purchase a tree. Then, use it to construct a lovely Christmas tree.

People often choose a driftwood Christmas tree for a seaside-themed holiday season. Unique driftwood trees bring a bit of maritime beauty to any house. Consider constructing a driftwood tree this Christmas season if you’re wanting to be creative.

Creating driftwood trees is quite simple. All that is needed is some driftwood and wire. Simply get some driftwood from the shore or riverbank. 

Which Is More Beneficial To The Environment?

Most families celebrate Christmas with either a natural tree (such as spruce, pine, or fir) or an artificial plastic tree. However, there is still some uncertainty over which is best for the environment. 

It is easy to imagine that artificial trees are environmentally benign since they “rescue” a genuine tree from being chopped down. Nevertheless, fake trees are often built from PVC (polyvinyl chloride). PVC-made products might take hundreds of years to degrade.

According to the Carbon Trust, a 6.5-foot artificial tree produces around 40 kg of greenhouse gas emissions. Approximately two-thirds of these emissions are caused by the production process. 

In addition, another quarter originates from the industrial pollution generated by this process. During shipping, the carbon footprint increases once again, and many fake trees are carried from China to the United States.

The carbon footprint of artificial trees is almost double that of a genuine tree that ends up in a landfill. And it is more than 10 times that of a burned actual tree.

Using a genuine Christmas tree instead of an artificial one might do more than save emissions. It may even benefit the globe. 

“At any given moment, there are around 100 million trees flourishing in the United Kingdom, providing several environmental advantages. Without the Christmas tree market, these trees would not be flourishing, said Yorkshire Christmas Trees’ Oliver Kenny to the Guardian.

If you already have an artificial tree, try to utilize it for as long as possible to minimize its influence on the environment. 

Conclusion

The holiday has passed, and the decorations have been put away for another year. What are your plans for your tree?

If you have selected a real, chopped tree, you may recycle it into mulch. There are a few locations in Las Vegas and Henderson that offer this service. 

Just be sure to remove all decorations, lights, cables, and other non-organic objects. They will pollute the mulch and may even harm the chipper gear if not removed.

Since 2003, about 170,000 trees have been recycled via the Christmas Tree Recycling Program of Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful.

Contact the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for more information on how to participate this year. 

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