Would you rent your Christmas tree?

Renting a tree

The countdown to Christmas is in many respects more important than the big day itself. Over the next few weeks, you’re certain to have many festive to-dos on your list, with gift buying and Christmas activities with family and friends all making for a jam-packed season. There’s one task that’ll make things feel extra Christmassy at home, however.

Purchasing, decorating and enjoying a tree is a long-running tradition thought to date back to the 16th century.

These days Christmas décor colour trends are more elaborate than ever. But with 7 million of the 8 million real trees sold sadly discarded once Christmas is done and dusted, there’s a darker side to this far-reaching festive trend.

Here we take a closer look at the impact our tree decorating habits have on the environment and explore the latest eco-trend set to help us countdown to Christmas more sustainably.

Real trees and the untold environmental impact

We all know nothing beats a real, live Christmas tree. Being greeted by that distinctive smell of pine needles is what Christmas is all about.

Going au naturel with your tree is no doubt better for the environment than choosing an artificial alternative. Real Christmas trees have a significantly lower carbon footprint and can be disposed of more sustainably through chipping or burning. When going artificial, you’d have to use your tree for a minimum of 10 years to make the environmental impact lower than a real tree.

But whilst real trees are less damaging to the environment, they are far from carbon neutral, as Carbon Trust explains:

“How you dispose of your real Christmas tree is much more significant than where it comes from and how much fuel was used to get it to your home. For a 2 metre tall real Christmas tree, with no roots, the carbon footprint is 16kg CO2e if it ends up in a landfill. This is because the tree decomposes and produces methane gas, which is 25 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.”

Sustainable christmas ideas

The eco-trend sweeping the festive scene

Keeping the tree alive and potted is the key to lowering your Christmas’ carbon footprint and minimising the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the disposal of real trees. Living more naturally and potting your Christmas tree however requires space that many modern-day homes simply haven’t got. That’s where the latest eco-trend comes in…

You can now rent a Christmas tree to unlock a long list of eco-friendly plus-points and enjoy a real tree sustainably at home. That’s right, instead of purchasing a cut tree or spending money and storing an artificial alternative, you’ll get to take home a potted Christmas tree for the festive season.

When your rental period is over, the tree is collected, replanted and left to flourish for another year.

The benefits of renting your Christmas tree

If you’re currently debating whether to go real or artificial this year, go for a rented tree instead. Renting a Christmas tree is a much more eco-conscious option, and it’ll allow you to enjoy all the perks of having a real tree at home this Christmas without the environmental impact.

Unbelievably, hiring a tree is often cheaper than purchasing a cut tree too, so you’ll have extra pennies to spend on gifts or doing the festive activities you love this Christmas period. Many Christmas tree rental companies even provide cashback if you’ve looked after your rental tree properly.

Hiring a potted Christmas tree is easier than ever, and as the tree is still alive and breathing, you won’t have to worry about falling needles. You simply get to enjoy the lovely, refreshing smell of pine and countdown to Christmas in style.

Images: nadtochiy , Happy Hirtzel / Shutterstock.com