It's a sparkling and tinsel-wrapped tradition around the world: the Christmas tree.
Derived from pagan and Christian customs, the lush-leaved symbol has become a holiday staple over the centuries.
But a silent war is occurring underneath the mistletoe — pine or plastic?
According to the latest ABS Household Expenditure Survey, on average, Australians are spending $27 a year on Christmas decorations.
But before you spruce up your home with a new tree, sustainability experts are calling for bauble buffs to consider alternatives to plastic trees that are more environmentally friendly.
Monash Sustainable Development Institute project manager Julie Boulton is urging Christmas revellers to ditch plans to buy a new plastic tree, to avoid perpetuating the demand for the products.
"[Plastic] produces way more emissions than a [live] tree," Ms Boulton explained.
"The emissions that has been used to create that plastic Christmas tree in the first place, you'd need to keep it for 15 years to compensate."
Don't upgrade, reuse
Zero Waste Australia campaign coordinator for the National Toxics Network, Jane Bremmer, said there were other issues to consider when investing in products made from non-recyclable plastics.
"We really want to avoid those plastics in our homes [made from] polyvinyl chloride, that contain dangerous flame-retardant chemicals, phthalates … chemicals we know already harm human health," she said.
But don't rush to throw out your old family plastic Christmas tree.
Instead, the CSIRO is encouraging Australians to use their plastic trees multiple times, rather than "upgrading" or buying a new tree every year.
"There are many things we use that are made of PVC … some of those are potentially quite problematic," principal research scientist for CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Britta Denise Hardesty, said.
"If somebody does have an artificial Christmas tree … make sure you're storing it properly, and hopefully use it for many decades," Dr Hardesty said.
"[It's] better than getting something, using it, and then deciding, 'Hmmm, not so keen on it, I might just get rid of it'."
Ms Boulton said the best-case scenario would be to avoid purchasing anything new at all and get creative instead.
"There are other options … you can actually rent a tree," Ms Boulton said.
"Christmas doesn't have to be about buying anything new ... really, it's about using what you already have and putting it all together in a fun way."
It's a sentiment echoed by Ms Bremmer.
"Go and buy yourself a real, living plant, if you can – put it in a nice pot, and attach your decorations that way," she said.
"There are so many wonderful ways to create a living Christmas tree."
'Throw it over the fence if we aren't here'
Elves across the nation are working hard on Christmas tree farms, with many affected by months of wet weather and flooding.
The evergreen farms can be found in every state in Australia, offering a biodegradable solution to the Christmas conundrum.
But if you do make the decision to buy a live tree, what should you do with it when the stockings are unstuffed and the decorations droop?
The Costa family has been selling Christmas trees at their Ballarat region farm for nearly 50 years.
Cara Costa said there was a solution becoming more common.
"We welcome our customers, after the Christmas tree period, to come and dump their tree back or throw it over the fence if we aren't here," Ms Costa said.
"Then what we do is mulch the Christmas trees. We then use it on our properties, or we take it home and use it on the land— to help with the rain and the water."
More trees planted than cut
Lynette Macri offers the same service on her tree farm in Dural, New South Wales.
Ms Macri said it was important to "sleigh" some misconceptions about the sustainability of Christmas tree farming.
"For every tree we cut, we actually plant more – there is always some loss, as with anything you plant," Ms Macri said.
"We are actually planting more trees than we are cutting every year … even the netting we use to transport them in is fully recycled."
The Victorian government's Office of the Conservation Regulator (OCR) said it was important to take advantage of the recycling services.
OCR program manager for the Grampians region, Don Coutts, said while live Christmas trees were beautiful to look at, it was important not to dump them where they didn't belong after the silly season.
"Often, the live Christmas trees don't get into the green waste bin or the council tip," Mr Coutts said.
"It can be an issue, in terms of spread of seed, and disease, within [a] forest."
