When choosing a Christmas tree, the choice used to be simple: plastic or fresh.
But with the growing sustainability movement, people are instead recycling rubbish and other objects to make Christmas trees.
Everything from toilet rolls to rabbit traps are being turned into trees for the festive season.
For the past two years, Alison Marr and Dorothy Wasson, from a craft centre in Tamworth, have organised a competition to make a recycled Christmas tree.
Their goal is to raise awareness about the impact of waste and to show people it can be fun and easy to recycle.
“It’s amazing how you preconceive things — you think that’s a bottle, but I’m looking at a detergent bottle, and it’s been made into an angel,” Ms Wasson said.
“It’s just a heap of fun. Because nobody’s right, nobody’s wrong, you don’t have to measure up to anything.”
Wood, chocolate and CDs
Ms Marr said some of the designers’ 60 entries were imaginative in hitting the reuse and recycle brief.
“There are some very nice technical ones that wood turners have made … and one where it’s a windmill,” she said.
“There’s a vet collar from a dog … two teenage girls went and bought some chocolates and put them all together.”
On the state’s North Coast, Lismore City Council has crafted a towering tree from discarded rubbish and items donated by the community.
The structure includes insulation matting crafted into hearts, geotextile fabric painted in seasonal red and green, orange barrier mesh, a rainbow carpet base, and various CDs and DVDs.
The upcycled tree has returned for an eighth time after a hiatus last year, while the community recovered from flooding.
“[We’re trying to] get people back into the CBD and Lismore in general, and buy all their Christmas presents with local businesses,” Mayor Steve Krieg said.
“We’ve had everything from bikes to all sorts of things that come through our revolve shop that have been turned into Christmas trees.”
Difference in design
The recycled Christmas tree trend comes as the NSW government aims to reduce plastic litter by 30 per cent by 2025.
“It’s heartening when communities find their own ways to encourage reducing waste and recycling materials,” said Nancy Chang from the NSW Environmental Protection Authority.
“Local competitions which can inspire and influence others are a fantastic example, especially during the festive season.”
Ms Chang said while education and recycling were an important step, more could be done to bolster design standards, including for plastic products and other household items.
“We’re not saying that we’re banning the product, we’re saying let’s design it differently, so harmful additives are not present, and present a health issue for humans,” Ms Chang said.
“One of the really interesting and exciting designs that has been implemented in Europe is a washing-machine filter.
“Every time we wash our clothing, a lot of microplastics end up in our ocean.”
Ms Wasson said the success of Tamworth’s competition was a glimmer of hope that people were interested in taking responsibility for looking after the environment.
“Every piece of plastic and every piece of foil that’s ever been created, is still in existence,” she said.
“And we need to recognise this and really think, ‘Do we want the Peel River to look like a floating plastic island?’
“You’ve got to start at the base level with children and having them appreciate that this is an important task.”
The recycled trees are on display in Tamworth’s CBD and will then be sold off as a fundraiser, so people can continue to use them in their homes.