To find real Christmas trees sad?

[BlackAldi]

Hear me out, I love the look of a real tree but it makes me really sad to see trees that have been chopped down just so they can be a Christmas tree for a couple of weeks. Seeing them out on the roadside for rubbish collection in January also feels really sad and wasteful.

We have a fake tree (I realise there are other environmental issues with that) that is 12 years old and hopefully can last another decade. And also a little potted for tree that we bring in for Christmas then put back in the garden for the next year (so it’s a living tree and no killing/chopping needed).

anyone else feel sad about chopped real trees?

Yup, totally with you. Hate seeing any tree cut down, it makes me feel really sad.

I do. I used to have one but hated that they just got thrown out. We have planted on but it's still small so that's not going to be used anytime soon 🤣

I love the idea of the rented trees but nowhere near us do them

I do! I also feel the same about cut flowers. Just sat there all depressing, slowly dying in front of my very eyes.

I am very environmentally conscious so looked into this and all the studies come back to a similar conclusion, that real trees are better.
https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-priorities/protect-water-and-land/land-and-water-stories/real-vs-fake-christmas-tree/#:~:text=Real%20or%20Fake%3A%20Which%20Christmas,you're%20actually%20supporting%20forests.

Most of them are only grown to be a Christmas tree. It’s not like people are getting rid of forests

far better than plastic made from fossil fuels

No. I like cut flowers too. Christmas trees are planted to be cut down, if they weren’t being cut they wouldn’t be grown in the first place. It’s not like it’s a naturally grown plant being destroyed.

They are no more sad than a bouquet of flowers, and are much better for the environment

Totally agree

Especially in January when they are dumped at the side of the road!

I get genuinely upset by all the abandoned trees each year, however as someone said all of these trees are being planted and helping reduce CO2 , I couldn't bring myself to get one this year despite wanting a real tree.

It's literally a crop, sustainably grown for this purpose. Just like eating the vegetables you presumably consumed with your Christmas meal. How this is worse than some plastic tat shipped from China is beyond me.

I don't really understand this argument, but maybe this is my own ignorance - surely these trees are grown in the first place to be christmas trees, and are replaced when they're chopped down. Do you dislike using paper or wood furniture for the same reason? If we didn't grow trees that were intended to be harvested then surely we would grow a lot fewer trees.

Our Christmas trees are picked up after Christmas and turned mulch. So they don’t even go to waste.

They are planted to be cut down, you can and should take them to the recycling centre to be turned into soil or wood chip.

So no. I love them!

You can recycle it..

Real trees are far less damaging for the environment than the manufacture and shipping of artificial ones.

There's a cool arrangement locally here, where a community woodland are re-planting with indigenous species of tree. Every Christmas they cut down the Lodgepole Pines and sell them as Christmas trees cheap as chips, then replant with something that belongs there. We got a few of our trees from there.

I bought a little grown-in-pot tree this year instead which we'll put out in the garden. I must say it's looking very chipper still.

Have always had a real tree. Nothing wrong with using an artificial but I prefer a real one.

They're a crop, so I don't understand anyone objecting to them being cut down. They wouldn't be there in the first place if they weren't going to be cut down. And think of the positive effect they have on the environment whilst they are alive.

That said, I have a tradition of thanking the tree before it goes. It's probably a bit bonkers, and no-one knows I do it, but it doesn't seem right to send it off for recycling without thanking it for doing a sterling job!

To be fair if OP really does keep her artificial tree for 20 years it may have a lower carbon footprint than buying real ones for all those years, but she's unusual if she does (and it still has to end up in landfill one day): https://www.soilassociation.org/take-action/organic-living/christmas/eco-friendly-christmas-trees-real-vs-fake/

Mine doesn't get dumped by the roadside. It's cut up and added to the log pile for next winter, so no waste.

We have a beautiful fake tree that dh bought 18 years ago. We've used it every single year since & plan to use it for many many more. I don't believe that that's environmentally awful.

That’s as daft as saying you feel sorry for cut flowers. They are grown to be cut down. More are planted.

I couldn’t bring myself to have a fake tree. I’m an inveterate snob 😬

Yes this.

We also have a real tree in a pot. It lives indoors in a rear conservatory year round (moved to the sitting room at Christmas). We hang papier-mâché eggs on it at Easter and autumn leaves in the autumn. It's around three years old now, since we bought it that is.

You’re letting your heart get in the way of reality here. Xmas trees do several things - firstly, the planting and maintaining of them whilst growing provides employment. Secondly, whilst they are growing they help remove CO2 and add O2 to our atmosphere. They also help remove particulates from our air. Thirdly, they are left at the side of the road because our local councils tell us to do that so they can be collected and recycled.
fake trees provide a bit of employment but it’s all downhill from the point of manufacture. They serve no purpose in air quality, they go to landfill and they hang around for several hundreds of years. I know which I prefer!

No, I don't get upset about cut trees or flowers. I get upset about food banks,refugees, children in care, inadequate sick pay, homelessness, the lack of social housing, extortionate rents, poverty in general, bankers bonuses, the House of Lords, the current government, the cost of living, fuel poverty, crumbling schools, a day functional criminal justice system and overcrowded prisons. There are probably a dozen or more items I could add to my list but Christmas trees isn't on there.

We have a pot grown one, it is amazing, very good environmentally and financially because although it was more expensive than a cut tree it has lasted several years and can be enjoyed in the garden after Christmas.