I do love all of these eco options!  I wish our town had something like this.  We haven't done a tree at our house for years now.  But, if there was a service here that offered "adoptions" and then planted the tree around somewhere, then I'd definitely do that.  

"I’m always so sad when I walk the streets of New York after the holidays. All the trees lay out dead and discarded on the street. It feels so wasteful and sad"...

Oh my gosh Alicia, this upsets me too!  The day after Christmas, my neighborhood is like a tree graveyard. :(  A friend once told me not to worry - that trees are grown just for this purpose - just like asparagus.  Seriously?  Since when do aspargus take 7 years to grow?

Thanks for providing other options.  It makes me so happy :)

Patricia-I was going to write a private response, but in case anyone else was curious about Jersey Shore veg goodies...

Kaya's Kitchen in Belmar is good with an extensive menu and Nature's Corner in Spring Lake Heights is a nice little health food store with a juice bar. In Asbury Park, there's Basin Bar which is part of a yoga studio. They have healthy vegan grub and lots of juices (also cold pressed juices which you can take home :).
 If you travel a little north, Good Karma or Eurasian Eatery in Red Bank are favorites. Good Karma is totally Vegan and Eurasian has LOTS of tasty veg options. Also, downtown Red Bank has Funk and Standard which is a funky little shop with a great juice bar, vegan baked goods & often raw items. There's also Dean's Market in both Shrewsbury & Ocean that offer some grab-and-go type options and juice in addition to their healthy grocery.
 You can also check out the Cinnamon Snail food truck. He's usually at the farmer's market in Red Bank, but the season's over. You can check out his web site and he also does catering. He was also featured in a spread in VegNews!

 I've only had good experiences with all of these places.

Enjoy!
Aimee

I love it!!  There is always an eco- way of looking at things!!!

This always makes me sad too, so my husband & I have never had a tree.  What are some thoughts (from everyone) on the farms though?  Don't these provide trees (even if for a short time) that would otherwise not be planted, & therefor benefit us with oxygen, etc.

the town of bradley beach, nj does an awesome thing with all the discarded trees from residents after christmas.  they started a program around 10 years ago to build up the beach dunes, so after the holiday, they take all the trees and lay them on the dunes to help build them up.  well after ten years, the dunes there are so high in many places, you cannot see over them!  so they are protecting the beach from erosion, the boardwalk from destruction, and the homes from water.  it has been a great eco option for used trees. i wish many other communities would do the same!

Love it!! I wish they did something like that in Pennsylvania where I am from!!

lol YES, I am doing something more eco than buying a Christmas tree this year. I'm MUSLIM lol, and traditionally, for the Eid Al-Fitr and Eid Al-Adha, we just pile the presents on the coffee table the night before HAHA it works. Really.

I live in the Middle East so barely any trees here. A few years ago I received a plastic tree as a gift, and have been using it since. Every year the decorated tree makes me feel happy as soon as I walk in the door :)

I've always wanted to do this but I have a question -- If it is a mid-size or large potted tree, what do you do with it throughout the rest of winter/early spring when the ground is frozen? Would love to know from anyone who's done this! Thanks! ~Katrina

Danielle Convery - I'm currently in Beachwood but i spent high school and college cleaning all those houses on the beach up by you!  Do you know any good vegan restaurants in that area? (I know this isn't the board for that but it's so nice to find someone else from my neck of the woods - er, beach).  We love to walk around Ocean Grove and my MIL grew up in Elberon.

The adopt a tree idea is very cool for those that must have a real tree.

Personally we have always gone with an artificial tree, our previous tree was second hand, but we updated to a prelit LED one last year which assembles in minutes.

Mark Osborne - www.VeganHealthAndFitness.com

We're very fortunate to have a waste collection company that recycles thrown away trees into mulch. They have to be prepped into 2 ft sections & cleared of all ornaments then left by the cubside where they're taken away. The public can then go purchase mulch from them when they need it...great idea, right?

Good ideas! I just read an article about which is more eco-friendly: buying a real christmas tree v. getting a fake one.http://earth911.com/news/2011/12/01/buying-eco-friendly-real-vs-artificial-christmas-trees/ Pretty good article.

bought a fake one for $5 and been using it for years.