Recycling the Christmas Tree
But let's say you'll keep those suggestions in mind for next year, but for this Christmas, the gifts are bought, the wrapping trashed, and your artistic talent is nil. There's still the Christmas tree.
In the U.S., more than 33 million trees are sold each year. Real Christmas trees are the ultimate green renewable product; nearly 98 percent are grown on farms as a crop just like corn, wheat or pumpkins, and like any other crop, harvested trees are replaced by new plantings. Most communities have tree recycling programs to make disposal easy, but even in the worst case scenario—a tree isn't recycled—it's still fully biodegradable.
Where do recycled Christmas trees go? The variety of uses for recycled trees is astonishing. Community recycling programs chip the trees into mulch for use on gardens, parks, hiking trails, playground areas, animal stalls and landscaping. Whole trees are used in river shoreline stabilization projects, for beach erosion prevention, marshland sedimentation, fish habitats, winter garden decorations, wild bird feeders, and even hazardous chemical clean-ups.
Louisiana is an example of Christmas tree wetlands conservation at its best. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Louisiana loses about 25 to 35 square miles (66 to 90 square kilometers) of coastal wetlands a year to erosion. Since 1989, close to 1.5 million recycled Christmas trees have been used to stem the tide.
Under the state's Christmas Tree Program, wooden pens built across shallow open water are filled with recycled trees. The Christmas tree barriers act as wave-breakers, helping to reduce marsh-edge erosion, enhance water clarity, and provide important reef areas for many fish and crustacean species.
So in addition to the Christmas carols, listen to the conservation mantra this year: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
|
SOURCES AND RELATED WEB SITES
|
