Earth Protect Blog

Every year the debate returns. What is more Eco-friendly Christmas tree? Real or Fake? Many believer that buying a fake tree is the smarter choice because it lasts for years and you aren't cutting down a real tree. However, the production of these fake trees create harmful byproducts that are bad for both the environment and personal health. To top it off most artificial trees aren't bio-degradable. On the other hand cutting down a real tree doesn't cause any harm to the environment except cutting the tree down itself. But, many commercial trees have been sprayed with harmful pesticides and with the sudden surge of trees being cut down wild-life is disrupted and even harmed.

It seems as if there is never a true winner in this debate. Luckily, environmental awareness has become a bigger and bigger topic over the years and slowly environmental options are becoming available. Businesses are starting to pop up in both the United States and Canada where you can rent a Christmas tree. For close to the same price as buying a real tree you can know rent a living potted tree. Once the holidays are over you return the tree which will be planted or donated to reforestation projects. 

Unfortunately, Denver doesn't have a rent-a-tree service yet. Denver does have Treecycle. This program recycles Christmas trees after the holidays by using the trees for mulch. This year the service is offered from December 31 to January 11. To recycle their tree residents simply have to place their tree outside in the same place where they put their trash. Residents that use dumpsters need to place them four feet away on Monday, December 31 or January 7.