By Shengying Zhao
Murphy News Service
Each year at Christmas time, many Americans seem to overlook an important part in their busy holiday decision-making process — should you select a natural or artificial Christmas tree based on environmental considerations?
Cost, convenience, family tradition and personal preference are all important factors Americans consider, but some tree buyers are looking for ways to make environmentally friendly purchases.
An independent Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) study released in 2009 showed locally produced real trees are more environmental friendly than artificial counterparts in terms of distribution, disposal, and average carbon emissions.
“Real trees are natural and renewable, and it can be sourced locally,” Kathryn Fernholz, executive director of Dovetail Partners, a Minneapolis-based environmental non-profit organization, says. “Whereas artificial trees are generally not locally manufactured and they are made out of nonrenewable and toxic resources such as fossil fuel”.
LCA concludes that for an artificial tree to level out on its environmental impacts with a real one, it should be kept and used for at least 20 years.
“Most American households will get rid of an artificial tree after about six years,” Fernholz says. “The key thing is you have to be committed to an artificial Christmas tree and take good care of it.”
“It’s not about one is bad and one is good,” Fernholz says. “It’s more so understanding what you have to do in order to manage the environmental impacts. It’s still a personal choice.”
The LCA compares the environmental impact of a natural vs. artificial Christmas tree using Life Cycle Assessment methodology, which quantifies potential environmental impacts of a product or a process over its entire life span. The approach takes raw material processing, manufacturing, transport and distribution, use, reuse, recycling and disposal impacts into account.
“We highlight the Life Cycle Assessment because it looks at the big picture,” Matt Frank, program & research associate at Dovetail Partners, says. “Before the life study, it was difficult to have a complete scientific discussion about the trees options. The research gives people more important information to make better choices.”
Frank said he and his wife are getting their first Christmas tree this year and plan to buy a real one.
“When it comes to Christmas trees, disposal is a big deal,” Frank says. “People can check with their waste hauler to make sure they take Christmas trees and reuse them.”
Shengying Zhao is studying journalism at University of Minnesota.
FOR MORE INFO
The LCA report can be found at: http://www.ellipsos.ca/site_files/File/Christmas%20Tree%20LCA%20-%20ellipsos.pdf