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Are you composting your christmas tree?

Discussion in 'Environmental Discussion' started by burritos, Jan 3, 2011.

  1. burritos

    burritos Senior Member

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    taking a while to chop up here.
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    in a manner of speaking. take them to the recycling center wednesday with everything else and they grind 'em all up.
     
  3. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    Not yet, but I will be. We have these great new bins that the city picks up every week all year long, so in it goes. After a bit of cutting, of course.
     
  4. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    Got a fake one... so far we have saved about 5 real trees.
     
  5. xs650

    xs650 Senior Member

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    No, plastic and metal don't compost very well.

    Our fake tree has saved at least 6 real trees and a bunch of fuel and time that would have been spent looking for the perfect tree.
     
  6. icarus

    icarus Senior Member

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    No,,,I'm planting it along with the 17 others in my windbreak row. The tallest are now 50+ feet tall. Cuts down my heating cost in the winter by ~ 25%!

    PS. There was an interesting article about fake vs real trees, and it turns out that real trees (even those cut and discarded) provide a real benefit to the environment, since for every tree cut, there are ~ 10 left standing a the X-mas tree farm, absorbing CO2. There are virtually no benefits to a fake tree!
     
  7. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    and putting the festivus pole back down in the crawl space.:D
     
  8. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    I wrestled with that dilemma for years, often getting a live tree with the intention of planting it in the yard. Some of them made it, but some of them didn't last long, which made me feel worse. After reading about the benefits of Christmas tree farms and all the trees that otherwise wouldn't grow, my guilty conscience has been absolved.
     
  9. Rokeby

    Rokeby Member

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    Hon,

    We're just gonna put our loom-num tree back down
    in the basemint for 'nother year. Every 10 years or
    so, we do need a new bulb for the color wheel.

    [​IMG]

    Loom-num Christmas Tree Song Clip

    EDIT: Just kidding. Our 4' pre-lit tree saves a whole lot
    of frustration and seasonal ill will; as much as I hate :(
    stringing lights, I absolutely detest un-stringing them. :mad:

    [ame=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminum_Christmas_tree]Aluminum Christmas tree - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]
     
  10. Rae Vynn

    Rae Vynn Artist In Residence

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    We have a pretty plastic one. It never came downstairs this year.

    I grew up with one of those hideous abominations that is the "loom num" tree... with color wheel (it squeaked incessantly). Eww. So very, very, ewww.
     
  11. spiderman

    spiderman wretched

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    You are such a downer dude. Here I thought I was gonna get a few green points. :(
     
  12. qbee42

    qbee42 My other car is a boat

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    My tree is still up. Christmas isn't over for another three days, so it's a bit early to talk about composting.

    As for composting, I take my spent trees and throw them down the hill by the stream. They sit back there for a year or two, making a nice home for small animals. Eventually I chop them up and burn them on the campfire down by the stream.

    Tom
     
  13. Pinto Girl

    Pinto Girl New Member

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    Didn't get one, didn't waste the time/energy/expense on getting one, don't need to compost one.
     
  14. icarus

    icarus Senior Member

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    Sorry spidey,, but reality is a harsh master!
     
  15. patsparks

    patsparks An Aussie perspective

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    No tree at my place this year but my lady friend goes nuts at Christmas with lights and decorations. We are carefully packing it all up to reuse next year. No real tree though but 2 fake ones with foldable limbs.

    6 reindeer, 1 santa, 1 sleigh (all hand strung with lights), a huge star, 1/2 size nativity scene, thousands of lights, (about half LEDS), lit candy canes, loops and a huge Merry Christmas on the fence. All this is outside on the roof and in her tiny garden, looks fantastic. Christmas eve evening was spent handing candy canes to kids and accepting praise for the effort.

    No, we don't compost the tree.
    I have 10 real trees in my back yard, big trees and all the branches that come off except the bigest ones are left on the ground to rot down and return to the environment. Not exactly where they fell but in the back corner.
     
  16. xs650

    xs650 Senior Member

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    My wife likes it. That's enough of a benefit for me.
     
  17. MariaEvri

    MariaEvri Member

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    my parents (I personally dont decorate my appartment) use a plastic tree. Had thesame one for years and looks just as pretty each time.
     
  18. Pinto Girl

    Pinto Girl New Member

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    With great power comes great responsibility.
     
  19. ursle

    ursle Gas miser

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    Correct answer, me to:cool:
     
  20. burritos

    burritos Senior Member

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    Ding ding ding! This is the correct answer.