How to Give a Second Life to Your Christmas Tree?
There are several ways to recycle your Christmas tree after the holidays. But you have to know them… You should know that abandoning it on the sidewalk is forbidden and punishable by a fine. Discover here how to give a second life to your tree after the holidays.
The holidays are over, and it’s time to put away the decorations and take down your Christmas tree. But what are you going to do with it? Of course, if it is made of plastic, the question does not arise. But for natural trees, abandoning them on the sidewalk is punishable by a fine. So what is the best option for recycling them? Here are some ideas to give them a second life.
Recycle your potted Christmas tree by replanting it
If you bought a potted tree, replant it in your garden or in a forest. To do this, you will first have to acclimatize it. For this reason, you will have to leave it for a few days on your terrace or in your garage so that it can get used to cooler temperatures.
Wait for a warm day to plant it in the ground. This will be the best opportunity for it to grow and become the king of your garden! You can plant it in a forest or a park. To do this, you need to dig a hole about twice the size of the root ball. Pour some potting soil (classic or special softwood) and place your tree upright before filling the hole with the removed soil. Don’t forget to water it even if it’s cold.
Recycling your cut tree
There are different ways to recycle a cut tree. Here are four of them.
Make chips out of it
Some city councils offer to collect trees from residents to reduce them to chips. The municipality can keep them to make mulch in winter or as a weed killer because it has anti-germinative properties. In some cases, the famous chips can also be offered free to the municipality’s citizens. Check with your city to see if it provides this type of service.
Drop it off at a collection point in your community
There are collection points for natural trees after the Christmas holidays. The municipalities indicate a place in the city where you can drop off your tree to give it a second life. To do so, bring it to the indicated collection point, respecting the instructions (remove all decorations, for example) and times indicated.
Bring it to a garden center
Some garden centers accept to take back the Christmas trees they sell after use. Some stores offer a voucher in exchange and commit to replanting a tree for each tree returned. To do this, take your receipt and return it to the store to have it taken back.
Use it as firewood
Are you lucky enough to have a fireplace? Your tree can be used as firewood. Even if softwoods are not the favorite wood for fireplaces because of the excess sap, it is an excellent zero-waste way to get rid of them. In addition, the Christmas tree smells very good when it burns!
Be careful. Using the tree as firewood once it is dry is better. Otherwise, the sap could damage your chimney. In addition, green needles catch fire very quickly. So wait until they are dry before putting them on the fire.
If you like barbecues, know that the fir tree is perfect to start a fire so that you can store it under cover until the summer period.
What if you can’t recycle your Christmas tree?
If you have no choice but to throw it away, use the biodegradable tree bag to deposit it at the waste disposal center in the “green waste” category.
For people who cannot travel and those living in a municipality where nothing is set up for recycling natural trees, depositing them with regular garbage is still possible. The garbage collectors can sometimes pick them up. Don’t hesitate to contact your town hall for more information.