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Your Christmas tree could become a reef for fish
STATES CHRONICLE – Many of us recycle paper, plastic and metal but you should know that Christmas tree recycling helps the environment as well.
After probably debating with your family about what type of tree you should buy and where to buy from and then where to place it and how to decorate it, your Christmas is finally decorated and in place just in time for Christmas.
Although many Americans have chosen an artificial tree because they want to use it next year as well and don’t want all of the pine-trees or fir-trees to be cut, there are also many of you who have chosen a natural tree.
A natural tree makes some people feel closer to nature but it also has the downside of making you clean up the needle-like leaves that keep falling under it. Yes, the Christmas tree from the song was showing a “coat of green” all year round, but that was because it lived in the forest and was not cut off.
Now, after enjoying opening Christmas presents from under the tree, you’re probably thinking already that you’ll soon have to let it go, take off the decorations and then…what? What do people do with their Christmas trees when Christmas is over?
If you had an artificial one, you could just store it away in the attic or in the basement, but you obviously can’t do the same with a natural one. The best solution would be to recycle it. Your tree could ground up and become gardening mulch or it could be used to prevent erosion by building up beach dunes.
In the state of West Virginia for example you can donate your tree to fish charity. In other words, your tree could become a home for fish and their ‘babies’. They are very good because they provide protection for many types of fish such as catfish, bass, crappie and many others. Similar to what birds do, fish build some sort of nests in these trees but underwater.
The trees get underwater by being tied together and also with concrete blocks which should weigh them down. The trees create a sort of reef for the fish in ponds and lakes where they are very easy to place.
You can donate your tree on January 2 in Charleston at the Capitol Market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. If you make a donation you could win several prizes such as gift certificates or ski packages. If you’re not from West Virginia, you should check out what program your state has for recycling trees because there definitely has to be one in each state.
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