Recycle Your Christmas Tree: Tips for a more Eco-Friendly Christmas

With Christmas just around the corner, it’s a great time to plan making the holidays more eco-friendly. You might already have ideas for being more sustainable over the season, including gifting eco-friendly gifts such as reusable insulated mugs, and cutting down on food waste.

There’s nothing like having a real Christmas tree. From family trips to the farm to select one, to the scent of pine gently decorating your home throughout December.

However, when the celebrations are all said and done, landfill gets overwhelmed with trees. One way to be more eco-conscious this Christmas is to recycle your Christmas tree.

Why is it bad to throw out your Christmas tree?

We’re all aware that Christmas trees are biodegradable, but this doesn’t mean they immediately break down in landfill. When trees are surrounded by trash, they start getting broken down by bacteria and release methane - a potent greenhouse gas. Because they’re smothered by everything else in the landfill, a lack of oxygen means trees don’t biodegrade very quickly at all. There are plenty of options to recycle your Christmas tree to be more sustainable.

You might think that burning your tree is a good way to avoid polluting the landscape. It’s important to bear in mind that burning a Christmas tree releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is another greenhouse gas (although not as strong as methane). What’s more, if you’re burning your tree inside, the natural oils that are in your tree will damage your fireplace.

Considering Americans buy 25-30 million real Christmas trees across the US every year, there’s a lot of space for damage. Here are some of our top tips to recycle your Christmas tree.

Ways to recycle your Christmas tree

Make woodchip mulch

If you don’t own a tree shredder - let’s face it, most of us don’t - you can hire one or find a local service. Make eco-friendly holidays a neighborhood effort by teaming up with your friends to hire a tree shredder. If you recycle your Christmas tree into mulch, you can use the woodchips to provide nutrients and protection to your garden, encouraging plant growth.

By collecting the pine needles that fall off your tree, you can make a mulch that acidic plants will love.

Create a wildlife habitat

Give local critters a place to shelter and invite new friends into your yard by cutting up the trunk of your Christmas tree and stacking it. This makes a safe, warm space for small mammals to shelter in throughout the cold winter months, and encourages insect biodiversity. You can also recycle your Christmas tree by bundling up the branches to give bugs a place to hide - try hanging these from trees!

Buy in the pot and replant

Many Christmas tree suppliers sell trees potted, which means you can keep it watered inside for the festive season. Once the celebrations are done with, replant your tree out in the yard. Recycle your Christmas tree for use again next year by repotting in a larger container to allow for growth.

Other ways to be more eco-friendly this Christmas

1. Spread festive cheer to your customers by stocking your store with Christmas-themed custom reusable grocery bags
2. Compost the leftovers from your Christmas feast
3. Wrap presents in pretty reusable fabrics instead of wrapping paper
4. Buy seed paper Christmas cards to treat friends and family with flowers after the festivities