Facts About Treecycling

Treecycling is the act of recycling your Christmas tree so it can be used as compost or mulch. These trees contain valuable nutrients that can be used in other capacities. Before we learn more about the benefits of treecycling, here are some fun facts about Christmas trees from the National Christmas Tree Association:

• There are approximately 25-30 million real Christmas trees sold in the U.S. every year.
• Eighty-five percent of artificial trees are manufactured in China.
• For every real Christmas tree harvested, up to three seedlings are planted in its place the following Spring.
• There are about 350,000 acres in production for growing Christmas trees. Each acre provides the daily oxygen requirements of 18 people.
• It can take 15 years to grow a tree of average retail sale height (6 feet), but the average growing time is seven years.
• The top Christmas tree production states are Oregon, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Washington.

Christmas Tree Recycling

Christmas trees are recycled for five main types of large-scale uses for post-harvest trees:

• Chipping (used for various things, from mulch to hiking trails)
• Beachfront erosion prevention and river delta sedimentation management
• Lake and river shoreline stabilization including fish habitat

So, what are some communities doing to get involved? According to an article published by Donna McKinney for Green/Simple Living:

1. Cook County, Illinois uses old Christmas trees to rebuild housing structures for natural wildlife that have been destroyed through development.
2. The state of Louisiana uses its expired trees to rebuild the coastal wetlands.
3. Dunbar Cave State Park in Tennessee uses mulch from the Christmas trees to line its walkways.
4. Burlington, Vermont incinerates the chipped trees to generate electricity.

Renewable Resource

Today, approximately 98 percent of real Christmas trees are grown on farms throughout all 50 states and Canada. Real trees are a renewable, recyclable resource, and real trees are planted to be harvested just as corn and pumpkins are cultivated for a harvest.

Young trees in their rapid growth years have a high rate of photosynthesis and thus produce more oxygen than older trees. This year, more than 60 million new seedlings were planted by Christmas tree farmers all over North America.