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Home > Featured Stories > Engaging Society > January 2008 > Since You Can't Replant, Recycle!

Since You Can't Replant, Recycle!

Simple actions like recycling a Christmas tree - when taken by many homeowners at once - add up to one significant improvement to the environment.

NC State associate professor of wildlife ecology Chris Moorman

By Dave Pond, Web Communication

Now that the presents are unwrapped and the decorations stored back in the attic, it's time for the 30 to 35 million Americans who purchased a live Christmas tree this season to figure out the best way to get it out of the house.

And although you can't replant it alongside next year's harvest, NC State associate professor of wildlife ecology Chris Moorman says there are a number of things you can do to make your 'retired' Christmas tree a new and significant part of the environment around you.

"Instead of sending your tree to a landfill where it will just take up space, you could actually recycle it to benefit wildlife right there in your own backyard," he said.
   
If you have a lake or pond available to you, a group of Christmas trees makes for ideal fish habitats. After you remove all your ornaments, garland and other trimmings, rope several trees together (this can be a great activity to do with several neighboring families), attach the grouping to a cinderblock and sink the trees to a depth of 10 to 20 feet.

"Before you drop your Christmas trees in a lake or pond, you might want to remove little chunks of limbs within the tree to help open them up," Moorman said. "Christmas trees are very compact trees, so if you remove some of the limbs, you'll create more spaces within the structure to harbor larger fish.

"I've done this several times with friends, and we normally drop anywhere from six to ten trees," he said. "Tie two or three trees together, because it's unwieldy to have too many trees in one group, and then drop the groups together in one spot."

Landlocked nature lovers can collect trees for use as brush piles - a grouping of several trees will attract songbirds searching for a winter home.

"Brush piles will benefit terrestrial animals, those that live on land," Moorman said. "It's especially useful habitat during the colder months, when the deciduous leaves fall off the trees and there is less cover available to wildlife.

Moorman recommends gathering several trees together - the bigger the brush pile, the better - but sparrows, juncos and other birds will be happy that Santa's brought them even a single tree. Be sure to check homeowner's association guidelines or neighborhood covenants (if applicable) before building a brush pile on your property.

A growing number of communities have started larger recycling programs as well. Many cities and counties will pick up or accept trees after the holidays to boost their mulch supply, which in turn helps moderate soil temperature and retain moisture during droughts and dry weather - like the conditions North Carolina faced throughout 2007.

In October, Division of Forest Resources officials instituted a ban on all open burning across the state, which N.C. Gov. Mike Easley temporarily lifted earlier this month. Forest fuels such as pine needles and branches - and dying Christmas trees - are extremely dry, and even a single tree could spark a wildfire that spreads across thousands of acres, regardless if burning is currently legal.

"Burning a Christmas tree is simply not a good idea," Moorman said. "I suspect we'll be under a ban for most of the wintertime, so it's actually illegal to burn trees right now."

Moorman, a wildlife biologist, questions why burning a tree would even be an option when there are so many other choices that are better for the environment.

"Simple actions like recycling a Christmas tree - when taken by many homeowners at once - add up to one significant improvement to the environment," Moorman said.

Related Links:

• Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources
• National Christmas Tree Association 
• Earth911.org

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