Young Reporter Real or Fake Christmas trees? by Miranda Cheung, TGS
In terms of environmental impact, it’s close, but the best choice is a real tree - if you don’t already have a plastic one. Two-thirds of a plastic tree’s environmental impact is the plastic material it is made from. A 2m (6.5ft) tree amounts to about 40kg of greenhouse gas emissions, depending on the specific material it is made from. That means you have to use it for 10 Christmases for its impact to be less than buying a new tree every year. This can be lessened by buying a tree that is made from recycled materials or one that has been used before. However, that is without factoring in the emissions of the transportation from the factory where it was manufactured, to the store or warehouse, and to your home. Nearly 90% of the fake trees used in the US every year are made in China, leading to huge amounts of GHG emissions from shipping them across the globe.
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In terms of environmental impact, it’s close, but the best choice is a real tree - if you don’t already have a plastic one. Two-thirds of a plastic tree’s environmental impact is the plastic material it is made from. A 2m (6.5ft) tree amounts to about 40kg of greenhouse gas emissions, depending on the specific material it is made from. That means you have to use it for 10 Christmases for its impact to be less than buying a new tree every year. This can be lessened by buying a tree that is made from recycled materials or one that has been used before. However, that is without factoring in the emissions of the transportation from the factory where it was manufactured, to the store or warehouse, and to your home. Nearly 90% of the fake trees used in the US every year are made in China, leading to huge amounts of GHG emissions from shipping them across the globe.
