Reusable versus disposable?

Normally the reusable versus disposable debate also features the natural versus man-made debate. So resuable nappies are made of cotton, bamboo or hemp whereas disposable are made of plastic. Menstrual pads the same. This somehow makes the question easier to answer... natural = good, reusable = good, job's a good'n!

Except of course it is more complex than that. There is the debate about how natural is natural, especially in the cases of bamboo and hemp, and also about the energy costs for reusable.

That is for another post though as today's post is about a different sort of disposable versus reusable - Christmas trees.

As a child we always had a real tree, and I love the smell and look of real trees, I actually find fake trees a little depressing and pointless. Well that isn't fair, I don't really, but I would if I had one in my house. I think I would rather not bother. As an adult I have not had a Christmas tree, but this year we are having people round on Christmas day (green-eyed does Christmas!) and I would like a tree. I would like a real tree. But then there is the quandary over the real tree and so I was considering a fake tree.

So real trees are natural, and natural equals good, right? Well maybe not. They are a big crop, could that ground be used to grow food crops? Maybe in some cases, but would it? Maybe, maybe not. They can also be grown in ground which is not suitable for other crops. More importantly they are sprayed with Roundup. Roundup, the pesticide which causes the most poisoning and death. Hrmmm. I could buy an organic tree, if only I could find one!

So then, maybe I should buy a reusable tree, less waste, no removal quandaries. Once it has got to me that is it in terms of energy expenditure. No pesticides. Just petrochemicals. Probably quite a lot of tree miles as well. Plus I would have to use it for many years as they can't be recycled, and I do hate landfill.

Most green sites suggest you shouldn't get a real tree. They don't really say what you should do though. No tree I guess. That's not very festive though is it? I feel like I should be able to have a tree. But then do I come back to that perennial problem, I do as much green stuff as I can therefore it is OK to fly round the world and back again.

Harrumph. I feel like a tree should be a possibility, I will be sharing my Christmas with 7 others as well. It will be my first tree since being an adult.

I think I have left it too late to get a real tree anyway. But that aside, I think i have decided to try and get a small real tree in a pot, which I will then keep in a pot and reuse next year.