What is best to buy – an artificial tree or a real tree?

An artificial tree can be used for many years, so its impact on the environment is depreciated over time. A commercially-grown tree needs to be cultivated and transported every year, so it has higher carbon footprint.

  • If you are buying a real tree, we recommend you buy one which has grown naturally without fertiliser and is Forest Stewardship Certified.
  • Buy a locally-grown tree with roots, since it can be re-planted outside after Christmas. If it was locally grown, it will have less carbon miles associated with it.

Disposing of Xmas Trees in 2021 for Alan Greenwoods Funeral Director branches & customers.


Christmas Tree Disposal

Every year we collect your old trees and chip them for biomass which is used to provide green energy on the national grid. Given that we only collect from our customer and we use our existing vehicles, there is little extra millage incurred, so resulting in a lower carbon transport for disposal.
If we don’t collect your old tree, consider how you dispose of it – such as

  • Chip the tree yourself and spread the chippings on your garden.
  • Burn the tree safely and as permitted locally. The CO2 released will balance what it has absorbed so it will be a net increase in carbon emissions.
  • For a 2-metre-tall real Christmas tree without roots, the carbon footprint is 16kg CO2e* if it ends up in landfill. This is because the tree decomposes as it is deprived of oxygen, resulting in decay which produces methane gas. This is 25 times more significant to the environment as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.

For more information or to recycle your tree with us, contact info@jcatkinson.co.uk


*source data Carbon Trust.

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