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Christmas trees, environmental benefits and challenges go beyond the "natural or plastic" debate
2025-12-08 20:04:39 / EKONOMI&SOCIALE
The tradition of the Christmas tree began in England around 1800, when Queen Charlotte brought the first decorated tree to Windsor. Since then, the tree has become an integral part of the holidays – today an estimated 25–30 million real trees are sold each year in the US and around five million in the UK. Studies show that young people are increasingly preferring natural trees, writes the BBC.
Their environmental impact is often debated, but experts say the issue is more complex than it seems. Christmas trees grow for about 10 years, and their plantations can support local economies and preserve the rural landscape. In some agricultural areas, they even provide valuable shelter for birds and insects, especially compared to intensive agricultural crops.
However, these plantations often use fertilizers and pesticides, creating negative impacts. Studies show that organic plantations offer higher biodiversity and a reduction in herbicides is recommended.
A key aspect is the way the land is managed: many areas where Christmas trees grow today could have been converted into parking lots or buildings, which would be much more harmful to the environment. In terms of carbon, trees absorb CO₂ as they grow, but release it back when they are burned or decomposed. However, the total amount is small.
The biggest difference lies in the disposal after the holidays. A 2-meter tree that burns releases about 3.5 kg of CO₂e, while a tree in a landfill reaches up to 16 kg of CO₂e due to methane production. Therefore, recycling is essential to ensure that the tree has the lowest impact.
Although the global impact of Christmas trees is small, they serve as a good example of how our choices can affect biodiversity, climate, and land use—topics that affect us all year round. / Skyweb.al
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