Use These Tips to Dispose of Your Christmas Tree Responsibly

Disposing of Christmas trees after the holiday is a challenge. Many pros and cons exist for buying a real tree. Growing Christmas trees, for example, absorbs atmospheric carbon dioxide, which is good for the planet. Real Christmas trees are also renewable when sourced from sustainable tree farms. Plus, real trees are biodegradable.

Real trees also can be composted or chipped for mulch, returning nutrients to the soil. What’s more, buying from local sources supports local businesses. If you have an artificial tree, it can be used for many years, reducing the need for repeated tree purchases. Plus, it avoids the waste associated with single-use trees.

But real Christmas trees have downsides. Transporting them from farms to stores creates a significant carbon footprint. Trucks and other vehicles that burn fossil fuels are required to deliver the trees. Cutting down trees at a tree farm also contributes to deforestation if they are not responsibly sourced.

If improperly disposed of in landfills, real trees can decompose and release methane, a potent greenhouse gas. If you favor artificial trees, disposing of them involves high energy consumption and using harmful chemicals. If made from plastic, they can be challenging to recycle and often end up in landfill.

Disposing of Christmas Trees Responsibly

Which approach is better? It all depends. Ultimately, the most environmentally conscious choice depends on individual circumstances and priorities. Ideally, you want to minimize your environmental impact by buying trees from reputable sources or buying sustainably produced artificial trees. Use your Christmas tree for as long as possible, and then dispose of your tree properly. Below are some tips on doing that.

Here are several options that involve giving your Christmas tree a new role:

• Use it as firewood —You can cut it up and use it as firewood. But the wood may still be wet, so use it only in an outdoor fire pit and only when the wood is dry. Using it indoors otherwise is a fire hazard.

• Recycle it as winter mulch—Leave the tree in your yard for the winter. It can provide much-needed shelter for small animals and birds. In the spring, chop it up and use it for mulch.

• Make it a bird feeder — Place it in its stand outdoors. Then, fill some bird feeders and hang them from the tree’s boughs. You can also drape the tree with a swag of pine cones coated with peanut butter.

• Protect plants with it — The winter is hard on tender plants. Cut a few branches or boughs from the tree and cover your tender plants for the winter. The branches will protect them from the season’s harshness.

• Add Christmas freshness to your home — Strip the tree’s pine needles and make a sachet of them. Then, hide them around the bathroom and kitchen for some cheerful fragrance.

Additional Tree Disposal Options

Many Rhode Island cities and towns offer curbside pickup during designated weeks in January. This option is easy, but check your local municipality’s website or sanitation department for pickup dates and guidelines. Providence, for instance, will collect trees on its regular trash pickup day in January. Check with the Department of Public Works for when the program starts and ends. The pickup period ran from January 3rd to 20th last year.

Remove everything from the tree before putting it out. The Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation (RIRRC) has an online guide with detailed information on when cities and towns pick up trees. You can also bring the trees directly to the Johnston facility. RIRRC grinds the trees and adds them to a composting operation that produces 40,000 tons annually.

Trees for Trout Program
Another popular option is to donate the tree to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) Division of Fish and Wildlife for its Trees for Trout program. RI DEM partners with Trout Unlimited Rhode Island Chapter on this program, which uses donated trees to build fish habitats in rivers and streams. This effort restores the water bodies and gives trout and other aquatic animals a place to hide from predators.
The next collection event for the Trees for Trout program is on Saturday, January 4th, 2025, from 10 am to 2 pm at the Arcadia Check Station in Exeter, RI. You can find more information about the program on the DEM website or the Rhode Island Chapter of Trout Unlimited website.
Christmas is a great time of the year. But once it’s over, you must do something with your tree. If your municipality provides that service, you can always put it on the curb for trash pickup. But if that option doesn’t appeal to you, you can use the tree better by giving it another role. Use the tips above to make that happen.