ABU DHABI // The smell of sap, the scattering of needles, the carbon footprint …
You may think you are doing your bit for the environment by decking your halls with a real Christmas tree this year.
But scientists say that a plastic tree from China is the much greener option.
Ahmed Al Hashmi, director of biodiversity at the Ministry of Environment and Water, says that tree sitting in a bucket in your loungeroom should be outside collecting carbon.
“All trees offset carbon because through photosynthesis the biochemical process combines sunlight, water and carbon dioxide absorbed from the air,” Mr Al Hashmi said.
Trees also store the carbon dioxide captured from the air.
A UK Forestry Commission report shows they store up to 0.5 kilograms of carbon a year, equal to 2kg of carbon dioxide.
The most common Christmas tree is the Douglas fir and the most common height 2 metres, making them about 10 years old.
Their lifespan can be more than 500 years and sometimes more than 1,000, says the National Wildlife Federation, meaning an average of almost 1,000kg of carbon dioxide is not being trapped.
A report published in 2006 by the US Environmental Protection Agency says making 1kg of plastic produces up to 6kg of carbon dioxide.
Therefore, a 2-metre plastic tree weighing about 5kg produces about 25kg of carbon dioxide.
Then there is shipping. A survey by The National found nine out of 10 plastic trees sold in the UAE were made in China.
The European Environmental Agency’s latest report says shipping contributes 15g of carbon dioxide for each tonne of goods travelling 1km.
The distance from Guangzhou, China, to Dubai is 9,200km by sea.
That means a tonne of plastic trees travelling to the UAE produces 138kg of carbon dioxide. A tree accounts for 0.5 per cent of a tonne, which equates to about 0.75kg of carbon dioxide for tree imported from China.
A real tree shipped from Canada covers about twice the distance – 14,500km – going through the Suez Canal. This means a tree coming from Canada to Dubai costs about 1kg in carbon dioxide.
When it’s time to throw out your Christmas tree, real wins out over plastic as the wood and organic material will decompose naturally.
But a plastic tree thrown away in the UAE would most probably be sent to the Ghantoot incineration plant.
Burning 1kg of PVC plastic, the most common material used to make fake trees, costs the environment about 2kg of carbon dioxide. For a 2-metre tree, that is 10kg.
But if a family in the UAE reuses a plastic tree each year they are saving the environment almost 900kg of carbon dioxide, or an annual offset of eight round trips from Dubai to Abu Dhabi.
nalwasmi@thenational.ae
