Where to recycle your christmas tree? (apartment, house, buying)

[haggardhouseelf]

Does anyone know where you can take your real tree's to be recycled/composted/mulched/something that isn't just throwing it away?

[kimhamblin]

We were thinking of starting an annual Chrismas tree burning party! Not the most eco friendly. but hey, neither is cutting down a tree for Xmas. Maybe someblody around there does it too?

I would contact your local recycling/mulch/yard debris place, they probably take them or know if a drop off site.

[haggardhouseelf]

For as long as I've been alive, there has always been a debate between whether a real tree or a fake tree is better for a family to have during Christmastime.

Fake trees are mostly manufactured in China and contain lead and PVC. Lead is especially harmful to children and pets, and PVC is a known carcinogen as well as very bad for the planet. Also, Fake trees cannot be recycled or composted.

Real trees - if bought from a typical tree farm - may contain pesticides and have probably been grown with harmful fertilizers which both run off and pollute lakes and streams and rivers...

And of course both of these conventional sort of Christmas trees generally travel many many miles before they reach the consumer, which is something people are becoming more aware of - the more miles a product travels to reach the consumer, the more harm done to the earth.

We were lucky to find a local organic Christmas tree farm. It was grown using methods that do not harm the earth, and it was very close to home. We also liked the fact that we were supporting our local family farmers.

I have to say that of all the Christmas trees I've experienced in my life, and they have always been real, this tree smelled the best! It really filled the house with a wonderful aroma. Yumm! We bought a wreath from the same family and it smells amazing, too.

Now... I just need to figure out what to do with this stuff. If we had a house, my husband would be all excited about buying a mulching machine so we could mulch it ourselves... (Anybody ever seen that episode of Malcolm in the Middle? Love that show...)... but we're in an apartment.

I think there are some local charitable groups that go around and pick up trees and mulch them for you for a small fee.... I think I'll go read the newspaper and see what I can find.

And as far as burning... that's actually what we did last year. We chopped our tree up and saved it for our next camping trip. We burned it in our campfire. It was a lot of fun. I think as long as you stick with an organic tree, I don't really think it would be that bad... it's the burning of all the chemicals and stuff that's really bad, I think?

The best thing probably would be to either not have a tree at all - which sorta feels anti-American to me - or to have a "living tree" that you can plant in the ground after Christmas. We tried the living tree thing once, and it died. That was so sad... we haven't wanted to try that again.