How Real Christmas Trees Win at Being Great for the Environment

More people are turning to real trees from a Christmas Tree farm during the Christmas season. While artificial trees are convenient, a real Christmas tree offers so much more long-term value. Not only in making memories at Christmas, or preserving nostalgia through the years, but also in protecting our environment. Yes, choosing a real Christmas tree every year is more environmentally healthy than an articifical tree. While many fake tree manufacturers would like you to assume that reusing a fake tree is better than cutting down a live one, there are more variables than just re-use. Although, a real Christmas tree wins in the re-use department too. Let’s find out just what makes real Christmas trees winners for the environment.

And, if you want to get in on doing your part for the environment, visit HemingwayHill this season to purchase your own real Christmas tree! On our Christmas tree farm near Dallas, TX, we have sustainably sourced Christmas trees in 6’, 7’, and 9’ heights. Limited quantities are available, so pre-order your Christmas tree today!

Real Christmas Trees Exchange Carbon Dioxide and Other Gases and Exchange Them for Oxygen

Through the process of photosynthesis, Christmas tree farms purify our air from gases that are harmful in excess, like carbon dioxide. Using some of the carbon to create their wood, they also store carbon dioxide away from the atmosphere. They use carbon to turn it into glucose, which is the food they eat. Then they release oxygen back into the air.

Christmas trees are oxygen farms. Taking in carbon dioxide and then switching it for oxygen, they produce double the amount of oxygen as they “breathe” in carbon dioxide each year. One acre on a Dallas, TX Christmas tree farm can eliminate 500 pounds of carbon dioxide each year, making 1000 pounds of oxygen in exchange. That is a lot of clean air!

One human needs about 740kg of oxygen each year to breathe. That is about 7-8 trees worth of oxygen-creating work. And since most acres can support up to 200 Christmas trees, that means that each acre of Christmas trees produces enough oxygen for around 25 people each year.

Real Christmas Trees are a Renewable and Recyclable Resource

Farmers plant, on average, 1-3 more trees per tree that they cut down each year. Acres that are devoted to Christmas trees can continually be used for more trees. A Christmas Tree farm near Dallas TX is busy providing a stable home for small animals, and the trees act as a natural ecological boost. And its important to note that real Christmas trees from a Christmas Tree farm aren’t a deforestation effort; instead, most Christmas trees come from family farms intentionally designed to grow them.

Additionally, instead of ending up in a landfill after their use, a real Christmas tree is recycled. Accuweather reports that 93% of real trees bought each year are recycled. Their after-life purposes are varied. After getting chopped up, they can be put into ponds to give homes to fish and support the pond habitat. Or, they can be used as mulch to put nutrients back into the soil. Some communities can use the trees against erosion. Rural areas can repurpose the tree into firewood to stay warm. Any way you reuse a Christmas tree, they usually have two lives, while an artificial tree thrown away often goes straight to a landfill.

Christmas Tree Farms Often Repurpose Soil and Land that Can’t Be Used for Crops

The New York Times reported that the people who choose to have a Christmas tree farm often are using farmland that cannot support other crops. Often planted on rolling hills, these acreages wouldn’t be practical or sustainable for other types of crops. Using the land for good, Christmas trees help preserve the soil and keep it fertile.

A Christmas tree farm near Dallas, TX also preserves farmland as a natural resource, instead of being used for condos or high-rise business parks. Preserving farmland offers an opportunity to grow our own products, instead of continually relying on other countries. And, Dallas, TX Christmas tree farms are a network of community. Each farm is reliant on their neighboring farms, and provides a support of economic benefits to their larger community. Running a farm takes a team – a team of stores, supplies, and experts, all of which employ many people and offer a sense of camaraderie.

Real Christmas Trees are Natural Products

The biggest reason why Christmas trees are great for the environment is the difference in their production. While a real Christmas tree uses renewable resources to grow – resources like CO2, a fake Christmas tree uses limited resources. Most fake trees are made out of PVC, which is created from coal manufacturing. And fake trees don’t output a resource. Instead, they are consumed for an average of five years, and then disposed.

The results of using coal to create PVC are devastating. First, the process uses large amounts of catalytic mercury, releasing mercury into the environment. Not only that, but during manufacturing of the tree itself, large amounts of toxic waste are released into the environment. The process consumes energy, often at the expense of petroleum, or oil, which are non-renewable resources.

This Year, Choose a Real Christmas Tree from HemingwayHill

Start a new tradition with your family. Instead of hauling the tree down from the attic and trying to make it look more fluffy, come to HemingwayHill for a Christmas Tree farm experience near Dallas, TX. From picking out the tree to setting it up in your home and stringing the lights, your family can re-capture the magic of Christmas. And you’ll be doing your part to preserve the rest of our environment. Trees from our Dallas, TX Christmas Tree farm come in 6’, 7’, and 9’ heights and are available for pre-order. Bring some Christmas Spirit home today with your family by stopping at HemingwayHill, your local Dallas, TX Christmas Tree Farm.