Real or artificial Christmas tree: which is greener in Quebec?

Every December, the same debate comes back to the living room: "At least with a fake tree, nobody cuts anything down!" Or the opposite: "Plastic is bad, period." Both camps are partly right, and settling exactly this kind of argument is what life cycle assessments are for. They measure a product's impact from start to finish: growing or manufacturing, transport, use, then compost, chipping or landfill.

Here is what those studies say, what we know about Quebec production, and the common beliefs worth knocking down before your next tree. For the rest of your holidays (wrapping, meals, decorations), also have a look at our guide to reducing holiday waste.

What life cycle assessments say

The key question is the break-even point: how many years do you need to keep an artificial tree before its impact becomes lower than buying a real tree every year? The answers vary a lot, and not by chance.

The Ellipsos study is especially interesting for us, because its reference real tree was grown south of Montreal: about 4 years in a nursery, then 11 years in the field, according to Purdue University's summary. It compared both options across four impact categories. The real tree wins on climate change and on resource depletion. The artificial tree does better on ecosystem quality, mainly because plantations take up land and use fertilizer, pesticides and irrigation, and slightly better on human health. Purdue also notes that most of the fake tree's emissions come from manufacturing it and shipping it from China.

At the other end, the American Christmas Tree Association study lands on 4.7 years. Bert Cregg, a professor of horticulture and forestry at Michigan State University, points out that it was commissioned by the artificial tree lobby and that it ignores the carbon stored in roots left in the ground, which could change the result significantly. He adds a point that cools things down: in his view, the environmental impacts of both options are negligible, and everything depends on how long the fake tree lasts and how far you drive for the real one.

True or myth: common beliefs about Christmas trees

"An artificial tree is greener because no tree is cut": mostly false

Only if you keep it a very long time. Even the study most favourable to plastic requires nearly 5 years of use, and independent analyses talk about 7 to more than 20 years. A fake tree replaced after three or four Christmases loses on every count.

"Buying a real tree means clearing the forest": false

The trees sold here are grown on plantations, like any other farm crop. Bert Cregg says the same about the United States: Christmas trees mostly come from farms, not wild forests. The nuance is that these plantations have their own impact (soil, fertilizer, pesticides), as Ellipsos noted.

"The real tree always wins": false

The car trip weighs heavily. According to Bert Cregg, driving about 16 km to get your tree, and the same distance back, can emit roughly as much CO2 as the tree stored. He estimates that a conifer of that size stores about 9 kg of CO2 above ground, and probably as much in its roots. His advice: buy your tree close to home or along a route you already drive.

"The tree you leave at the curb ends up in the landfill": false, if you follow the pickup rules

In Montreal, collected trees are shredded into wood chips. But be careful: a tree buried in a landfill is the worst option, because it breaks down there and produces methane (see below).

"A fake tree can be recycled": false

Montreal refuses artificial trees at its pickup, and Greenpeace Canada points out that they are often made of PVC, a plastic that is hard to recycle and usually ends up in landfill.

Quebec Christmas trees by the numbers

Quebec is the province that produces and sells the most Christmas trees in Canada, according to the Government of Quebec. In 2023, about 273 businesses were growing trees on nearly 9,500 hectares, mostly in Estrie and Chaudière-Appalaches. They are estimated to have supplied about 2.8 million trees to Quebec and international markets that year. About 1,130,000 trees were exported, worth $60.3 million, 97% of them to the United States.

Balsam fir, a native species, is the most widely grown, followed by Fraser fir, originally from the United States. You will also find Canaan fir, which shares traits with both balsam and Fraser fir, and Cook fir, with its bluish tint. And these trees take their time: it takes 14 years from seed to harvest for a 2.5-metre tree.

Buying a local tree, rather than a product made overseas, also supports regional farming, an argument Bert Cregg makes for American growers compared with artificial trees made mostly in China.

End of life makes all the difference

For a real tree, what happens in January matters as much as what happened on the farm. The Carbon Trust says chipping the tree and spreading the chips in the garden can cut its carbon footprint by up to 80%. Burning it releases the carbon it captured while growing, with no net increase according to the organization. In a landfill, it breaks down into methane, a gas 25 times more potent than CO2 according to the Carbon Trust (21 times according to Bert Cregg; both figures circulate, but the verdict is the same: it is the worst end of life).

In Montreal, a special Christmas tree pickup takes place after the holidays, and the dates for your address are posted on Info-collectes. The rules are simple:

• remove all decorations (balls, garlands, hooks, icicles);
• no plastic bag or wrapping;
• place it at the edge of your property, base facing the street, without blocking the sidewalk or burying it in snow;
• throughout January, you can put it out and it will be picked up in the following days. After January 31, it goes out with the regular garbage; otherwise, take it to an écocentre.

What happens to these trees? The city shreds them into wood chips. According to the city, an essential oil is extracted from the chips for household and cosmetic products, and the residue is used as fertilizer by landscaping companies. In a December 2024 press release, Montreal also said that most of the wood is recycled or used for energy recovery, and that it had collected 290 tonnes of trees the previous year, the weight of 14 STM buses. Elsewhere in Quebec, the rules vary from one municipality to the next: check your city's schedule.

Do you have a yard and access to a chipper? Chip your tree and spread the chips in the garden or add them to your compost, two end-of-life options recommended by both the Carbon Trust and Bert Cregg. Our guide to setting up a home composter will help you get started. Bert Cregg also suggests leaving the tree in the backyard as shelter for wildlife.

Potted trees: a good idea, with rules

A living tree, with its roots, that you plant in spring: on paper, it is the ideal option, and the Carbon Trust ranks it as the preferred end of life. In practice, you have to treat it like a dormant tree, not a houseplant. The University of New Hampshire gives clear guidelines:

• Acclimatizing: buy it one to two weeks ahead and keep it in a cold, unheated place (shed, garage, porch), with moist roots.
• In the house: 7 to 10 days at most. Any longer and the warmth can break its dormancy, and it may not survive going back outside.
• After the holidays: do not plant it right away. It spends the rest of the winter in an unheated shelter, watered from time to time, or in a spot sheltered from winter winds, with mulched roots.
• In spring: plant it once the soil has fully thawed and dried.

Think ahead, too: balsam fir and white spruce, two species the University of New Hampshire suggests for landscaping, grow into real trees. Popular Christmas tree species reach 9 to 15 metres at maturity. Choose the spot accordingly, and see our guide on how to plant a tree step by step.

Renting a living tree

Between buying and throwing away, there is a third way: renting a living potted tree that goes back to the nursery after the holidays. In 2020, Greenpeace Canada listed a few businesses of this kind, including one south of Montreal that rented living trees and planted a tree for every rental, as well as services in British Columbia that pick the tree up after the holidays, put it back in the nursery and can even rent the same tree to the same family year after year until it is ready to be planted. These services remain rare and change from one season to the next: ask the nurseries in your area early in the fall.

And if you already own an artificial tree? The best environmental decision is to keep it as long as possible, as both Bert Cregg and the Carbon Trust recommend. When you no longer want it, give it away rather than throwing it out, as Greenpeace Canada suggests.

Our verdict

In Quebec, a real tree grown near home, bought without a long detour by car and picked up by the municipal collection or chipped, is the best choice for the climate in most cases. A potted or rented tree does even better, if you respect its needs. An artificial tree can hold its own, but only if it lasts many years: at least 7 years according to the lowest estimate from independent analyses, more than 20 according to Ellipsos. The worst scenario? A cheap fake tree replaced after a few Christmases, or a real tree that ends up in the landfill.

Free gift: get The Quebec Recipe Advent Calendar, 24 recipes ready in 30 minutes or less with local ingredients, one a day until Christmas Eve. The same page gathers all our holiday recipes and guides.

Sources

• Culture des arbres de Noël (in French), Government of Quebec (MAPAQ), updated 2026.
• Which Christmas tree is better for the environment, real or artificial?, Daniel Cassens, Purdue University, 2015.
• Don't stress about choosing between real and fake Christmas trees, Bert Cregg, Michigan State University (republished from The Conversation by WFAE), 2018.
• The Carbon Trust's tips for a more sustainable Christmas, Carbon Trust, 2023.
• Vous n'arrivez pas à décider entre un vrai et un faux sapin de Noël? (in French), Greenpeace Canada, 2020.
• Connaître les modalités de la collecte des arbres de Noël (in French), Ville de Montréal, 2025.
• Recyclez votre arbre de façon écologique (in French), Ville de Montréal, 2024.
• Living Christmas Trees, University of New Hampshire Extension, 2019.