KSDK: Make This Christmas A Green One
Filed under: Earth 911 - December 18, 2007
If having a tree is a “must” for your Christmas, think about this: over the holiday season, 32 million trees are cut down. Ten million of those end up in landfills.
In fact, a lot of Christmas ends up in landfills. Americans generate an extra five million tons of trash during the holidays. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get a tree, according to the Sierra Club.
The Sierra Club recommends potted Christmas trees or having a tree that lives outside that you can bring in for just the holiday season. Avoid flocked trees that cannot be recycle.
Electricity use goes up 27 percent between Thanksgiving and New Year’s and a lot of it has to do with our decorations.
The Sierra Club recommends LED lights, which save you 90 percent on your electricity bill compared to regular holiday lights. The lights are going to last 10 years, maybe 20 years.
And finally, there’s gift wrapping, most of which is not recyclable because of the material and dyes. Try wrapping presents in re-used or re-usable things like towels, or t-shirts.
Visit www.earth911.org or call 1-800-CLEANUP and give them your zip code to find out how your local area is recycling Christmas trees.