Ask Ashley
Ho, Ho, Hold the PVC
November 14, 2007
Q:
Dear Ashley,
I recently bought my first home and after spending twenty-five Christmas’s around my parent’s plastic Christmas tree I’m wondering if I should make the same choice for my own home. Are there benefits to the fake plastic tree or should I be buying a good old-fashioned real tree?
Thanks,
Sara
A:
Dear Sara,
Somehow I knew this question would appear in my inbox as the signs a Christmas started popping up the day after Halloween. Luckily for you, Sara, I know your story very well as I, too, grew up in a home where we’d unpack the raggedy old plastic tree from its sorry looking duct taped box, wrapping it in garland as tightly as possible to prevent the branches from sagging to the floor. I missed the pine smell enjoyed by many of my friends but the reason we had a fake plastic tree was simple: real trees dried out and posed a great threat to everyone in the house. At least this is what my mother told me. She’d often tell the story of how, when she was a young girl, their house nearly burned to the ground because of a real tree. I didn’t think about it again until years later when I came to the realization that plastic was made of oil and from what I knew of oil, it burns very, very well.
Digging around I have found that plastic trees are, in fact, made of plastic and the reason they don’t burn particularly well is because they are made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) – the nastiest of all plastics. PVC or vinyl is a polymer that resists ignition and flame spread but since it is a chlorinated plastic, it poses numerous environmental and health problems. Many toxic additives are used in the manufacture of PVC, releasing dioxins and other toxic byproducts in the process. The problems relating to PVC’s manufacture and disposal have led several European countries to pass legislation to limit its use in consumer products and California has fought tirelessly to ban it from children’s toys. Knowing what we know about vinyl, it should behoove us to avoid vinyl wherever possible.
So, if you must have a Christmas tree then a good old-fashioned wooden tree will serve you and your local community well. Whereas most plastic trees travel from China, Taiwan and South Korea, many real trees for sale in Calgary are grown in and around Calgary. Buying a real, local Christmas tree will save thousands of kilometers of unnecessary transport, while supporting your economy and community in the process.
Some people may question the practices used to grow Christmas trees and this is certainly worth raising. Many growers use industrial agriculture methods – spraying herbicides and fertilizing to get the greatest growth – but growing practices vary widely and it shouldn’t be too hard to find a small-scale tree farmer in the area that does things differently. You might even be able to find yourself an organic Christmas tree. Certified Organic or not, the beautiful thing about real Christmas trees is that, unlike their wannabe cousins, they can be recycled in Calgary.
Each year the City of Calgary runs Christmas tree collection sites throughout the city. The program runs from late-December through early-January and is available at 31 locations around Calgary, including the 3 City of Calgary landfills. The trees are mulched and used in City green spaces, the Calgary Zoo and some of it is made available to residents for garden and yard use.
So, if you must have a Christmas tree make sure it’s a real tree. Look for local tree farmers that use sustainable practices and make sure your tree is well watered to avoid the risk of a fire and last but not least, be sure to use the City’s Christmas tree recycling program. Stick to these and all you’ll have to worry about is whether or not you’re going to put lights on the tree.
Really,
Ashley
Ashley Lubyk, BSc. in Environmental Science, formerly a Calgary Materials Exchange Program Assistant at Clean Calgary Association. Please send your question concerning Water, Waste, or Recycling to Ashley.