Article 56

TTHE CASUAL GARDENER, Shawna Coronado

Reduce Your Waist And Your Waste – Practice Conservation

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Dear Casual Gardener,

Okay Ms. Green Queen – answer this one - every year we buy a gorgeous freshly cut pine tree for
the holidays. We throw the tree out the first week in January. Since you have been discussing the
problem of our landfill’s running out of space, I have become concerned about where this tree will
end up. Can you tell me where my Christmas tree goes once it is picked up from the corner?

Signed,

Holiday Hal

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Dear Holiday Hal,

Thank you for your timely question, Hal. You can imagine how shocked I was when I found out that my
community does not offer Christmas Tree recycling in any way. I felt sure that the trees were being taken to the
same place yard waste is deposited, but the trees will not be accepted through that program at ARC Disposal,
so all those holiday trees are thrown straight into the landfill. Envision all that wood wasted! The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says millions of trees end up in landfills or illegally dumped on public
property every single year. MILLIONS!! That is a lot of space taken up in our landfills! If the average tree is
eight feet tall, that means that two million trees placed in our landfills would be approximately sixteen million feet
long. WOW!

Landfill is truly a problem!! The United States produces over 251 million tons of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)
every year. That’s almost 4.6 pounds of waste per person per day. According to data from the EPA, 28% of the
MSW waste is recycled or composted, 15% burned at combustion facilities, and the remaining 57% disposed of
in landfills.

Source reduction is a technique used to help reduce landfill waste. Source reduction involved changing the
manufacture, design or use of products to reduce the amount and toxicity of the items getting discarded.
According to the EPA, “Source reduction can be a successful method of reducing waste generation. Practices
such as grass-cycling, backyard composting, two-sided copying of paper, and transport packaging reduction by
industry have yielded substantial benefits through source reduction. Source reduction has many environmental
benefits. It prevents emissions of many greenhouse gases, reduces pollutants, saves energy, conserves
resources, and reduces the need for new landfills and combustors.”

There are several ways communities could source-reduce Christmas Trees. The easiest method would be to
grind the trees into mulch which can be reused to mulch city property or to give to residents. Mulching puts
nutrients back into the soil, helps protect plants against winter freeze and also helps conserve water by keeping
the ground cooler. You can find more ideas for holiday tree source reduction at the EPA’s website - www.epa.
gov. Another GREAT website for this information is The National Christmas Tree Association at www.
christmastree.org.

If you would like to see your city help with the Christmas Tree landfill issue, why not contact the city
administration and ask if the city would consider a “brush pick up” mid-winter? They can pick up all those
discarded pine trees and turn them into mulch for the city’s residents. Christmas Trees can be the gift that
keeps on giving if they are turned into mulch. Call your neighbors and get as many people as you can
requesting a better way to dispose of this major landfill problem.

Remember that being “green” is good for you and your community –get out there and find a way to mulch those
trees and make a difference!!

Please send your green and gardening questions to Shawna Coronado, The Casual Gardener to
dearshawna@thecasualgardener.com or The Casual Gardener, P.O. Box 358, Warrenville, IL 60555.
www.thecasualgardener.com

The Casual Gardener.com

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