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Ecological Christmas tree disposal was big in my family before it was cool to be an environmentalist. My uncle had a fish pond and our trees were dumped into various coves to make nifty beds for breeding fish. It was a clever way for us to begin our learning of giving back to the land that supported us.

Today, I participate in the annual Grinding of the Greens. A local fire department brings in a wood chipper and the community brings their Christmas trees. The fire fighters volunteer to grind the trees and the resulting "mulch" is left in huge piles in front of the fire station for area residence to haul off for their yards. There is no charge for grinding and no charge for claiming possession of the mulch. It is a wonderful effort at recycling Christmas trees which provides a community service, literally free of charge.

Why should we be concerned with Christmas tree disposal? The average Christmas tree weighs 20 pounds and takes up a space about the size of a washing machine in the land fills. While they are biodegradable, the space they take up in the meantime causes other garbage to be displaced, expanding the amount of land used for this purpose. Christmas trees can be recycled for more valuable uses than simply taking up space.

How can you find options available to you? The National Christmas Tree Foundation hosts a web site (http://www.christmastree.org/ home.cfm) that lists Christmas tree recycle programs around the nation. For example, a pharmaceutical company in Toronto, Ontario, plans to make an influenza medicine with the shikimic acid extracted from the needles of discarded Christmas Trees. In Porter County, Indiana, the Recycle and Waste Reduction district, along with the Moraine Ridge Wildlife Rehabilitation Group (MRWRC) and the Valparaiso High School Earth Awareness Club, gathered the trees and unloaded them at the 25-acre wildlife rehabilitation site. MRWRC leaders say the trees will provide cover for birds, chipmunks, raccoons and other small wild animals, protecting them from predators as well as shielding them in harsh weather. In Tomahawk, Wisconsin, Christmas trees are ground and the grindings are taken to their environmentally friendly pulp and paper mills where there are used as boiler fuel.

To fight back against erosion of ocean waves, Jefferson Parish has been conducting a conservation project since 1986 using Christmas trees. Over the years, nearly 1.5 million Christmas Trees have been recycled in this way - creating tree fences that combat erosion and slow wave action. Each year the group makes a "tree drop," with the help of an Army National Guard helicopter to quickly transport large bundles of trees to the alligator-laden marshes. The project has received nationwide recognition over the years for its impact on the Louisiana coast, even receiving 70 Christmas Trees from the White House in 1997.

In 2007, over 31.3 million real Christmas trees were purchased. Real Christmas trees are both renewable and recyclable. If we all recycled our Christmas trees, consider the impact of this effort. Visit the National Christmas Tree Foundation web site. Locate the Christmas tree recycling program nearest you, and then do the world a favor and recycle!

Learn more about this author, Cynthia L Parker.
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