Natural Christmas trees are still a popular holiday choice for many. However, it’s seems like a rather sad way to end a happy holiday with leaving your Christmas tree at the curb and ready for the garbage truck pickup to just put in a landfill. However, there are many ways to allow your Christmas tree to live on. Here’s a list of 8 ways to recycle your Christmas tree and let it live on.
1. Landscaping
Get creative and use your Christmas tree for some landscaping. Just remove the branches from the tree and use its trunk to line pathways. Even use the mulch from your Christmas tree for a surface for the pathways.
2. Fish Friendly Habitat
Did you know that Christmas trees provide protection for small fish? Fish can lay their eggs for about eight years. There are many municipalities that actually create fish-friendly habitats with Christmas trees. Just be sure to ask before you go ahead and dump that tree in a creek or lake.
3. Mulch
Recycle your Christmas tree into mulch. It’s an excellent source to use around trees and shrubs. Mulch preserves soil moisture and releases nutrients into the soil. It can also be used as a natural ground covering for landscaping and garden pathways. Many municipalities haul Christmas trees off at drop-off sites after the holidays. The trees are then put through a chipper, and the mulch is used around government buildings and parks.
4. Erosion Control
Use your old Christmas tree for erosion control. Christmas trees can be used to prevent sand dunes from eroding, retard the movement of saltwater into freshwater along the coast and to protect coastal marshes.
5. Addition to Alkaline Soil
Another creative use for your old Christmas tree is to use it as an amendment to alkaline soil. Just shake off as many needles as you can. Spread the needles around plants, and it will balance the pH of alkaline soils.
6. Fuel for Power Plants
In some areas of the United States, Christmas trees can be used as a fuel source. Once chipped and burned, the leftovers help provide fuel for power plants. It’s a great way to go green.
7. Mulch for Compost
Use the smaller branches of a Christmas tree for a compost pile. Just cut off 6-inch sections with hand pruners and throw the heap into a compost pile.
8. Mini-Bird Sanctuaries
Provide a safe haven for birds and other small mammals by just tossing your Christmas tree out in the backyard. Mother Nature’s creatures will enjoy refuge in its branches. Even feed them by hanging peanut-butter covered pine cones.
Although your natural Christmas tree cannot be stored in a box for usage next holiday season, there are creative ways to put a dead tree to use. Christmas trees are biodegradable and can be recycled or reused for other purposes. So, don’t just throw it in the trash or set it on the curb. If you’re seeking more ideas on what to do with your Christmas tree after the holidays, contact the National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA). “NCTA represents more than 700 active member farms, 29 state and regional associations, and more than 4,000 affiliated businesses that grow and sell Christmas trees or provide related supplies and services.”
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