Last month Karen Zraick of the New York Times published an article that examines this very question. Here are the takeaways:

It is not always bad for the environment to cut down trees.

While “cutting down trees” conjures logging, deforestation, and extinction, the reality is that most people don’t scour the woods at Christmas, armed with bow saws and balers, in search of the perfect Douglas fir. Christmas trees, whether cut down or bought on a lot, are grown on farms.

Christmas tree farms! They may not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Christmas trees, but they have a certain holiday romance about them. Zraick points out that real Christmas trees, then, are a crop.

For every tree that is felled at Christmas time, farmers tend to plant another in its place. And as these new trees grow, they clean the air and provide habitats and watersheds. Zraick also notes that Christmas tree farms preserve open land by virtue of their existence. That flips our original question on its side and raises another:

What’s more eco-friendly, to cut down a real Christmas tree from a local farm or to develop the land on which those farms sit for commercial use?

The reuse of artificial trees reduces their environmental impact.

The American Christmas Tree Association (ACTA; and yes, that’s a real thing) conducted a 2017 study, which found that 81 percent of the Christmas trees displayed in America are artificial. Most of these trees are made of copper, PVC plastic, and steel.

That may not seem eco-friendly, but according to Zraick, “The A.C.T.A., which represents manufacturers, claims the environmental impact is lower than that of a real tree if you use the artificial tree for five or more years.” There’s a fair chance that the A.C.T.A. makes this claim in order to get people to buy more artificial trees, but it raises another interesting question in how we measure the greenness of our Christmas trees:

Is it more eco-friendly to buy a real tree every year or to buy an artificial tree and replace it every five years?

We think it’s more eco-friendly to buy a real tree, as they are biodegradable and can be more readily used toward sustainable ends. Real trees can be used as mulch to enrich soil and prevent erosion at beaches or parks, or they can be sunk into lakes to create habitats for underwater wildlife.

On the other hand, artificial trees are harder to recycle. The copper, PVC plastic, and steel need to be separated in order to be processed and reused. And this assumes that the artificial tree makes it to a recycling plant rather than a landfill in the first place.

The greenest tree is bought locally and recycled responsibly.

In our view, the most eco-friendly option is to buy real trees from your local Christmas tree farm or lot and to recycle the tree responsibly — preferably before spring. To recycle the tree, consider gifting it to your neighborhood compost or mulch heap. Or sink it in your town’s lake. Or chop it up and use it as firewood. You’ll support not only the environment, but your local economy, too.

Zraick notes at the end of her article that Christmas trees are just a “drop in the bucket” when compared to the environmental impact of air travel and holiday shopping. To learn more about how you can reduce the impact of holiday waste, read our blog article from 2016.

The next time your Greenpeace cousin gives you flack for having a real tree in your home, we urge you to have the conversation about real Christmas trees versus artificial ones. If you’re not into the idea of spending time with family this holiday season, you have a great excuse that won’t hurt anyone’s feelings: “I’m sorry, Aunt Gladys. I’m not coming home to save the environment.”

Happy holidays from everyone at Remyndr. We hope that, however you choose to celebrate, your holidays are warm and bright.

Source:

Karen Zraick, “Real vs. Artificial Christmas Trees: Which Is the Greener Choice?” The New York Times, 2018.

Our 2017 resolution was to keep you better informed on events and issues in your town or city as they pertain to waste management and the environment. We tried to maintain this goal in our Facebook posts. Tell us how you think we did and how we can help keep you better informed in the comments section.

This year also brought some major climate-related events in North America: President Trump withdrew from the Paris Agreement; we experienced a total solar eclipse; and the continental United States, its territories, and Mexico withstood earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes.

At the end of the day – or year rather – we at Remyndr are most grateful for our interactions with you. We reached into several communities, both online and in the real world, and gained new insights about what works for you and what we can do better. In our effort to enhance our community and our service, we invite any feedback you may have to help us improve.

In 2018, Remyndr is excited to branch out into new geographical and conversational territories. Do you have a friend or family member who would benefit if Remyndr served their town? We want to know! Drop us a note in the comments section or on Facebook!

Happy New Year to you, your loved ones, and your community from all of us here at Remyndr! We hope the new year brings fresh starts, memorable adventures, and hope for communities and our world to become a better place.

BURIAL

Pumpkin burial is one of the more seasonal ideas we’ve encountered, specifically because of its connection to Dia de los Muertos.

Celebrated October 31 – November 2, Dia de los Muertos originated in Meso-America and was tied to the harvest season. Indigenous celebrants would dedicate a portion of their bounty to their ancestors, who were believed to return during this time to commune with the living (Gabriela Martinez, Los Angeles Times).

Bury your carved pumpkins in the backyard. You can create a makeshift Dia de los Muertos altar by decorating the burial site with candles, sugar skulls, and photos of your departed ancestors. The buried pumpkins will decompose and enrich the soil naturally and it’s a fun way for children to learn about the spirited Latin holiday.

COMPOST

It’s easy to add those pumpkins to the compost pile. After you or the kids crush the carved pumpkins, throw the broken pieces onto the heap and cover them with leaves.

WARNING: Be sure to remove any candles prior to the pumpkin demolition, and avoid mixing pumpkins that have been painted or treated with chemicals in with the compost heap.

Massachusetts residents, if you are without a compost pile but still want to compost your pumpkins, you may deposit them at the compost site in Avon, MA.

ANIMALS

In a similar vein, you can feed your carved pumpkins to the animals in the wild. Slice your pumpkins into bite-sized pieces before they begin to rot. Then deposit those pieces in an area of your yard accessible to wildlife. If you prefer not to have critters crawling around your property, you can always feed pumpkin to your pet cat or dog.

Pumpkin has a high fiber and water content, which means it’s healthy for your pet’s digestive tract. Again, make sure that the rot has not yet set in with the pumpkin you plan to feed your pet. It’s a good idea to wash the pumpkin once you chop it into chunks so that you can get rid of any bacteria that may have cultivated while the pumpkin was on the porch.

DECORATIONS

As we wrote in our blog post When Orange & Black Meets Green & Blue, you can transform newly carved pumpkins into flower vases. For this fun DIY project, all you need to do is coat the interior of the pumpkin with PVC glue, let it dry, and add water. Hint: This works better with pumpkins that have been cut and gutted than with pumpkins that have been surgically enhanced into jack-o-lanterns.

If carving and flowers aren’t in your candy bag, you can still upcycle your uncarved pumpkins and paint them for the upcoming holidays. Break out the paint, glitter, and glue and see what you can do! If you’re in need of ideas, you can find an endless variety of ways to paint your pumpkins on Pinterest. Simply search for “painted pumpkins” and scroll for an idea that inspires you!

For more environmentally-savvy ideas this Halloween, read our post on How to Create an Eek-O-Friendly Halloween.

Have a happy, fun, and safe Halloween!

Are you grateful for the people in your life? Are you grateful for the time you spend with family and friends? Are you grateful for stuffing?

We at Remyndr are grateful for your involvement in bettering your community. Waste management is a small part of most people’s lives. Yet it makes a big difference in how well our houses, neighborhoods, and cities run. This Thanksgiving – with all the errands left to run and the relatives showing up early – we know it’s hard to remember something like when the trash will be picked up this weekend. Don’t worry. We’ve got you covered. Just look at our app for schedules and updates.

Show your gratitude for the people you love with small gestures: Clear the plates. Do the dishes. Sort the recycling. Take out the trash. Give thanks. It may take a little while to see, but these little acts accumulate and create big changes down the line – whether it’s in our homes, in our neighborhoods, or in our cities.

We at Remyndr want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! We hope you and your family are safe and full this holiday season!

Costumes

It’s fun to buy costumes. The technicolor wigs, the super hero capes, the vampire teeth – it’s a blast! Yet so often costumes are a one-and-done affair. Instead, why not buy costumes you love and save them for the future? As a kid, I lived in my Superman and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costumes year round – separately, together, didn’t matter. As an adult, there’s always a themed costume party around the corner. Why not mix and match your costumes to make your own DIY costume creation?

If you’re not into the whole Halloween costume-buying scene, there are still plenty of pieces from your current wardrobe that you can pull together to create a killer costume. DIYers will agree that the ingenuity involved with DIY costumes is half the fun! And you might just win the contest for “Most Creative” at your next Halloween party.

Trick-or-Treat Bags

Old pillowcases are one thing. Redecorated bags are another. If you’ve kept any old purses, backpacks, or totes, why not (let your kids) repurpose them for the night? A little puffy paint and glitter go a long way. Even a pack of color markers are a delight. Not only is this a fun activity leading up to Halloween, but most bags hold a lot less candy than a pillowcase.

Pumpkins and Jack-O-Lanterns

From the pumpkin patch to the carving table, jack-o-lanterns are a classic part of the Halloween tradition. Buy local if you can. Grow them yourselves if you have a garden. Salt the seeds and bake them for a healthy autumn snack. Keep the discarded pumpkin pieces to bake bread or make ice cream. With a little bit of thought and planning, you can get a lot of mileage out of your pumpkins. Jack-o-lanterns make great compost. Uncarved pumpkins can be painted or glittered to make pretty decorations throughout the winter.

Have a happy and a safe Halloween!

Pool toys are made with polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a plastic categorized in recycling symbol 3. Curbside recycling programs rarely accept Plastic #3, because it requires processing at centers that specialize in PVC. Now if your neighborhood’s recycling center specializes in PVC, let us know so we can spread the word! Otherwise, here are a few fun ways to repurpose old pool toys:

The pool noodle. A classic toy used to joust, splash, thwack, and balance. The pool noodle can serve a practical purpose in your garage. If you’re like me, sometimes you chip the paint when you open your car doors in the garage. Enter the pool noodle bumper. Simply measure where the car doors meet the garage wall, level your pool noodle, and drill. A few 1-5/8-inch drywall screws will do the trick.

The pool noodle can also serve a decorative purpose. For all you DIY crafters, pool noodles make great witch legs at Halloween. Simply cut the pool noodle in half and stuff each half into a pair of striped Halloween tights. Slap on a pair of black heels then tuck the legs in a dresser drawer, in a black cauldron, or under your doormat or sofa. Pinterest has all sorts of creative variations for those of you who want to take your designs to the next level.

Pool floats. The swan. The donut. The pizza. The Popsicle. Mostly floatable foods. Typically these are tossed at the first sign of a leak. Yet it’s easier to patch these floats than you might think. First, locate the leak: blow up the float, submerge it in water, and look for bubbles. Next, draw a small circle around the hole. Then deflate the float and dry the area around the hole. Last, cut a piece of plastic from a float made of similar material and patch the hole with goop or super glue.

What about the rings? The water guns? The basketball hoop? Sure, none of them look great mounted on your wall. But before you toss them, ask any friends or family whose kids might like those toys. If their toy bins are already full, you can always donate your toys to Goodwill or The Salvation Army.

With a little ingenuity, it’s easy to repurpose your old pool toys and make room for their replacements next summer.

Natural, organic, and pasture-raised foods are the best way to make your barbecue green. Applegate Farms and Organic Prairie provide certified natural and organic meat products that are both delicious and environmentally conscious. Organic vegetables from your local Farmers Market or home garden are another way to enrich taste, while the reuse of ingredients in multiple dishes will reduce waste.

Before you buy a case of plastic water, consider the pitchers in your cabinets at home. Fill them up with cucumber water or homemade iced tea and lemonade to add a touch of home style to your cookout. This greatly reduces the waste caused by individual beverage containers that often are thrown out half full at barbecues.

There is much debate over which grill is greener: gas or charcoal? The argument hinges on the fuel used to power each. Gas grills use petroleum or natural gas, which are non-renewable fossil fuels. Yet gas grills produce less smoke and fewer carbon emissions than their charcoal counterparts. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory for the Department of Energy conducted a study, which found that gas grills generate 5.6 pounds of carbon dioxide per hour, while charcoal grills produce 11 pounds per hour. However, before charcoal grills are discounted, consider chunk or lump coal. This type of coal is greener than the conventional charcoal briquettes and contains no chemical additives. It is carbon neutral to burn and it is sold in most health food and home improvement stores.

Ditch disposable paper and plastic ware. Instead, bring your plates, cups, and silverware from home. These are cute and easy to clean. Once everyone is done, scrape off the plates over a trashcan and rinse them with water or place them in a grocery tote to wash at home. Another affordable option is to use compostable plates and utensils made of potato or cornstarch.

However you and your family decide to green your barbecues this summer, Remyndr wishes you a safe and happy Independence Day!

So what’s that go to do with recycling? Well, plastic shopping bags, is what. Plastic bags are a BIG problem for recycling. They are an amazing invention for the lightweight carrying of goods. However, their lightweight nature also presents challenges. We have all seen pictures like the one above of bags caught up in trees and bushes. They should be recycled, but did you know, they don’t go in your regular recycling? They get caught in the recycling machinery and can shut down facilities for hours at a time.

The right way to recycle plastic bags is to take them to your local supermarkets and look for the special shopping bag recycling bin. Please remember to remove all receipts and other trash from the bags first.

HOWEVER, even better than recycling plastic bags is to not use plastic bags at all. This November, let’s take the “No Plastic Bag Black Friday” challenge, and do our holiday shopping with reusable bags. Speaking of shopping, here are some stylish reusable bags you may want to add to your list this year. Best of all, after purchasing an EnviroVogue Recycled Plastic Tote, a donation is made to support the fight against breast cancer, the Maasai Association or the Kajiado Central District of Kenya. How’s that for some holiday cheer?

For those visiting brick and mortar stores, we could save a lot of plastic if we remember to grab our own bags from the corner of the kitchen, throw them in the car and then take them into the stores.

So this Thanksgiving, help the planet share in the warmth of the holiday by shopping with reusable bags. If you do end up with plastic, please recycle at your local store.

Leave us a comment below if you have a creative way of reusing your plastic bags this year.

Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Tom Cherry, CEO and Founder of Remyndr

Ah yes, Halloween is in the air, and by now the neighborhood kids are getting ready for a night of candy and costumes. Between all the Halloween parties and getting the kids ready for the night, recycling may very well be the last thing on your mind. Well not to fret, here is a quick guide on how to recycle the top 5 most popular Halloween items:

Pumpkins: Turn it into Compost. By breaking it up into smaller pieces and throwing it into the compost bin, you are helping the environment. Just please note that if paint or plastic objects have been applied, composting is not a good idea. Instead, turn your newly carved pumpkin into a vase by coating the pumpkin in some PVC glue, pouring in some water and bingo! You have a ready-made pumpkin vase that not only makes for a great centerpiece but will last for a while after Halloween as well.

Halloween Decorations: You can spay paint plastic pumpkin buckets and make beautiful planters or centerpieces for Thanksgiving. Some things to keep in mind and avoid for next year include: One-time-use, disposable items that will not last from one Halloween to the next, Non-recyclable plastics, including Styrofoam, Non-biodegradable materials, Wasteful and non-recyclable packaging.

Halloween Costumes: Is your child’s costume something they can re-wear for a fun themed birthday party? If not, try giving it away to a neighbor with younger kids, or donating it to your local Salvation Army charity. Next year, inspire your kids to get crafty with things they can find around the house.

Glass Drinking Bottles: These party starters can go straight in the recycling bin. Or, better yet, reuse them for beautiful home decorations.

Candy Wrappers: If your candy wrappers are made by Mars/Wrigley or Cadbury, then great news! You can mail your wrappers to TerraCycle, where they will be remade into cool products. Even better- TerraCycle will pay for your shipping, and donate 2 cents for each candy wrapper to a charity of your choice. Sign up and either start a new Candy Wrapper Brigade Team or join one in your area. Get your school or community organization involved! And don’t forget to check out the neat items that TerraCycle makes from those candy wrappers.

If your candy wrappers are made by some other company, then your main option to keep those plastic bits out of the trash are to get creative.

Tom Cherry, CEO and Founder of Remyndr