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Dr John Kazer, at the Carbon Trust, says an average artificial tree was made of plastic which comes from oil. This accounts for two thirds of its carbon footprint.
Another quarter of its environmental impact comes from the industrial emissions produced when the tree is manufactured.
He said a 2m artificial tree has a carbon footprint equivalent to 40kg of greenhouse gas emissions, which is more than twice that of a real tree that ends its life in landfill - and more than 10 times that of real trees that are burnt."
So - seeing as most real trees are dumped in landfill, you only need to reuse the artificial tree for 3 years to be better for the environment. Our artificial tree is more than 10 years old, so despite using up lots of oil I am an eco-warrior.