Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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12 UCW JANUARY 4-10, 2017 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM For many, one of the most exciting parts of the Christmas season is decorating the Christmas tree. The family comes together, shares stories and transforms an already beautiful tree into a joyful expression of the holiday. One of the most crucial decisions, therefore, is real or fake? There are many reasons to pick a real tree. They are vibrant, beautiful and can bring the added benefit of the fresh smell. Additionally, recent research has show n that ar t if icial t rees are act ually worse for the env ironment than real t rees. This is due to how the fake t rees are made. The manufact uring process involves no biodegradable plast ics that cannot be rec ycled. They are also of ten t ranspor ted all the way f rom China, ut ilizing massive amount s of f uel to make the t rip. On Jan. 14, PWC, the Cit y of Fayet tev ille and Duke Energ y come together to put used live Christ mas t rees to good use at Grinding of the Greens. There are some environmental impacts of cutting down real trees for decoration, especially 33 million of them every year in North America. The trees also do a lot of good while they are still alive, especially if they are farmed with sustainable and environmentally-conscious practices. Tree farms help absorb pollutants like carbon dioxide. A single tree can absorb more than a ton of CO2 in its life. However, the most important difference is that the real trees are biodegradable and recyclable. According to the EPA, 93 percent of the real trees sold every year are recycled. The trees are turned into mulch that can be used in landscaping, to build trails and even to help prevent erosion. These Christmastree recycling programs exist all over the country. In Fayetteville, it is called the Grinding of the Greens. The annual program began in 1994. This year is the 23rd Grinding of the Greens Christmas Tree Recycling Program. The project encourages citizens to help the environment by recycling their live Christmas trees to keep thousands of pounds of recyclable material out of the landfills. Instead, the trees will be used as mulch for the Fayetteville Community Garden and other local parks. The tree pickup starts on Jan. 9. This pickup is run by the City of Fayetteville, but is completely separate from regular yard waste, trash and recycle pickups. City residents are advised to have their trees out at the curb by Jan 4. It is vital that all of the trees put out for pickup do not have any lights, stands or trimmings attached. Pick ups will only be done for people living within the City of Fayetteville, but everyone can participate. Anyone who missed the pickup or lives outside the city limits can drop off their Christmas trees at the Fayetteville Community Garden any day before Jan 14. The actual grinding of the trees will take place on Jan. 14, beginning at 8:30 a.m. at the Community Garden. Volunteers from PWC and DEP are the ones who do the real hard work. They donate their time and turn every Christmas tree that they receive into valuable mulch. The end of the holiday season doesn't have to be the end of your Christmas tree's usefulness. Grinding of the Greens: Putting Trees to Good Use a STAFF REPORT EVENTS The Grinding of the Greens takes place on Jan. 14. FTCC offers over 200 programs of study leading to the award of associate degree, certificate, or diploma! Face-to-face or online classes available! FTCC is a military-friendly college! Registration locations: Fayetteville Campus • Tony Rand Student Center Spring Lake Campus • 171 Laketree Boulevard Fort Bragg Campus • Fort Bragg Training & Education Center w w w. f ay te c h c c . e d u • ( 9 1 0 ) 6 7 8 - 8 4 0 0 Start the new year by making the SMART choice for your education! Start the new year by making the SMART choice for your education! Register Now!