Last year (2011), I published a post What is a Green Christmas Tree to you? for the Christmas season to promote thoughts on the various options for a Christmas Tree.
There are, generally, three types of Christmas Trees available; Two natural types of trees: Cut trees with their roots removed, Live trees with roots & Artificial trees made of plastic and wire.
At the time, I suggested that a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) on the three types would be interesting as I have long harboured the view that an artificial tree, which can last for many years, may be the most environmental friendly option followed by the opportunity to re-plant a live tree for further use.
My fellow Environmentalist, Eleanor Glen (http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/eleanor-glen/34/93b/4ab) was able to locate a definitive report on the Life Cycle Analysis comparing the most common artificial Christmas tree sold in the United States to the most common real Christmas tree sold in the United States.
Whilst I am sure that there are going to be some differences in the LCA inputs for a similar analysis in the United Kingdom, the report addresses the environmental issues raised by the earlier post.
For those of you interested in this seasonal look at the environmental options for Christmas Trees, please go to: http://bit.ly/zGfCh2