An artificial Christmas tree would have to be used for 20 years before its carbon footprint matches that of a farmed tree, according to a forestry professor at the University of B.C.
Steve Mitchell said most artificial trees are kept only six years before fashions change and owners throw them out. Most end their life in a landfill.
“Artificial trees need to be kept for 20 years for the carbon emissions to be equivalent to using natural trees,” Mitchell said, referring to a life cycle study done in 2009 by Ellipsos, a Montreal-based sustainable consulting company.
People can choose a wild tree and either a farmed cut tree or a farmed living tree. Of all the options, the most sustainable is a wild tree, he said.
Since wild trees aren’t fertilized or groomed like farmed trees, the only fossil fuels used in turning them into products comes from the energy used in transporting them to the consumer, he said.
From Canada.com: https://www.canada.com/life/theholidayguide12/Real+Christmas+trees+more+sustainable+than+fakes/7684704/story.html