Depending on how many years you keep it, a fake, plastic Christmas tree may be better for the environment than a new, live tree
. That figure hasn’t shifted more than a few percentage points in the ten years since the organization started the survey, according to Mac Harman, a founding member of the ACTA and the C.E.O. of Balsam Hill, an artificial tree company. Apparently, the time-worn tradition of picking a tree from a lot may be more Hollywood manufactured than real.
But this year, as I carefully unfurled the bound boughs of polyvinyl pine needles, I started wondering if I should go back to the real thing. Now that I’m a climate correspondent, I am much more aware of the impact of all my consumer decisions on our planet. It’s hard to imagine something less sustainable than a plastic Christmas tree that’s only used once a year.
Christmas in general is a high carbon emissions holiday, according to Paris-based carbon accounting firmThis year the organization calculated that the typical U.S. Christmas celebration at home is responsible for 750 kg of CO2—4.6% of a family’s annual emissions and 14 times as much as a typical evening. Gifts, especially electronics, are responsible for most of the emissions, followed by the typical meat-and-alcohol heavy meal. The tree and decorations clocked in at 2.6% of total U.S.
According to the Nielsen study, 75% of American respondents who buy artificial trees intend to use them for five or more years. Nearly 50% said they would keep theirs for at least ten. I’ve had my tree for 12 years. And while it lists to one side because of a cracked base—victim of an impromptu dance party—and some of the branches have gone bald from excess ornamenting, I’m going to hold on to it for as long as it stands upright.
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