Surviving Christmas

by Eleonora Anello

Until we rid the tree, essential component of Christmas, we are not out of Christmas period. But every year the same problem comes: which is the final destination of all the purchased tree? Customers who bought an artificial tree puts it in a box, the ones who chose a real tree plant it, if they are able to, with the aim of using it next year. But those who have no open spaces available? How do the tree survive to Christmas?

The question, raised by several parties and promptly picked up by all media, is faced with positive results. Among the businesses, Ikea promotes the campaign to return the trees purchased at their stores. he initiative rewards either the costumer who returns the tree, with a voucher to spend within the Swedish chain, or the WWF to whom Ikea will give 3 euros for every tree returned back. The environmental association will invest these funds in the Italian Mountain chain of Central Appennini, to create natural areas where the Marsicane brown bear and other animals can repopulate those areas. The formula seems to work, so that Ikea can declare that in the last six years, customers have returned more than 90,000 trees, processed into fertilizer or used for the production of particle boards.

Also the municipal firms that deals with the waste management are active in this field. The AMA of Rome, for example, using the lucky Ikea’s slogan “Give a gift to the environment”, with “Do not throw your Christmas tree: give it back to nature” helps the citizens to do a favor to the environment. Since 7th to al 15th January 2011 and for the sixth year, the initiative, promoted in collaboration with the State Forestry, the Environment Department of the City and the local television news TGR Lazio, will be again promoted with the aim to give the Christmas trees a second life. Bringing them into specific centers, the best ones will be selected e for the replantation and to be used inside environmental education projects. The ones that are not able to overcome the selection, will be transformed in compost.
Considering that under every tree there are always presents that will substitute old objects ready to be thrown away and that produce lot of packaging that we have to dispose; and considering that near every tree there are big tables that create food waste, the AMA has written and spread a Decalogue that gives useful advice to better dispose that huge amount of waste the parties had generated. Beside the handbook also a free telephone number has been activated to get more information.

Even the smallest municipalities are doing something. In Rivalta, province of Turin in north Italy, «Eco-volunteers have decorated 40 small trees that will be planted in February – explains Gabriella Cibin, President of the Ecovolontari Rivaltesi Onlus – Thousands of decorations have been realized by recovery materials: yogurt cups, and aluminum balls, festoons made from plastic shopping bags, mini bottles from waste materials, stars in Tetra Pak, colored caps, which have taken more than a month's work by ten volunteers. The colorful result, above expectations, was welcome. Who knows, maybe in 2011 we’ll be able to involve traders...».

So, also this year the Christmas tree, one of the most beloved symbols of the holiday, has replied to all expectations, becoming, in many ways, a vehicle for raising awareness of the respect for the environment.