FAQ | Oncor Recycled Trees

Sustainability

What is the Corporate Purpose of Oncor Recycled Trees?

Our Purpose is to make Christmas eco-friendly by supplying Recycled Christmas trees to eco-friendly consumers and responsible buyers for 30 to 50 or more joyful Christmases.

Does your company define a specific Just Cause?

Our Just Cause is to build a better world in which people can embrace using Recycled materials more often, Reuse products with longer product lives, and continuously Reduce daily waste, thereby making our planet a better place.

What are the benefits of using recycled plastic in Christmas trees?
1. While most artificial Christmas trees are manufactured with virgin (newly produced) PVC or PE plastic, Oncor Christmas trees contain 100% recycled PVC plastic.
2. By using recycled plastic, Oncor both minimizes the environmental impact of our Christmas trees as well as upcycles a commonly-disposed of material at the same time.
3. In fact, virgin PVC produces 15.84 times more emissions than recycled plastic.
4. Source: University of Cambridge

What are the environmental benefits of a long Christmas tree product life?
1. A large majority of the environmental impact of Christmas tree production occurs during the manufacturing/farming of the Christmas tree and during the transportation of the tree to the consumer's home.
2. By offering Recycled Christmas tree with the longest product life, Oncor significantly reduces the overall environmental impact of Christmas tree ownership.
3. With a product life of 30 to 50 years or more, Oncor trees result in fewer Christmas trees needing to be produced or cut down and consequently less emissions-intensive car journeys being made.

Why does Oncor only manufacture traditional green Christmas trees?
1. Oncor does not produce Christmas trees in colors other than the traditional green as our decades of Christmas tree manufacturing knowledge and experiences have shown that trees in different colors, especially white, tend to have their appearance degraded much faster than those in green.
2. As a result, non-traditional green Christmas trees have much shorter product lives and are thus not very eco-friendly.

What can I do with used Christmas trees with remaining product life?
1. 1. At Oncor, we sincerely urge all our eco-friendly customers to continuously reuse Oncor Recycled Christmas trees for 30 to 50 years or more.
2. 2. As such, we would recommend that customers needing to dispose of their Oncor trees, for whatever reason before the 30 to 50 year product life is used up, to consider donating the tree to a local charity.

How is buying Christmas trees online better for the environment?
1. The greatest environmental impact of Christmas tree ownership comes from transporting purchased Christmas trees from stores or Christmas tree farms to the consumer's residence.
2. As such, purchasing a Christmas tree online is much more eco-friendly as doing so will utilize existing parcel delivery services that can transport items in a much more efficient manner.
3. Source: PE Americas

Why are pre-lit Christmas trees not eco-friendly?
1. In keeping with Oncor purpose: "Making Christmas Eco-Friendly", we have opted to not produce any pre-lit Christmas trees as most tree lights are prone to malfunction within a few years after purchase.
2. Consumers wishing to reuse pre-lit trees for many years may not have the required skills to properly take down, store, and set up these trees annually. There are many fire accidents and electric shocks caused by unskillful usage of pre-lit Christmas trees.
3. Pre-lit trees are pre-wired and strung with lights that cannot be removed from the trees, even when consumers want to change the color of the lights or to replace some damaged lights a few years after purchase.
4. Pre-lit trees cannot be reused for 30 years or more as Oncor Recycled Christmas trees can. As well, pre-lit trees may be a fire hazard to residential properties and can contain toxic heavy metal elements such as lead.
5. Pre-lit trees are not made of 100% recycled PVC plastics, because they are classified as electrical products and are subject to mandatory UL/CSA regulations. Therefore, pre-lit Christmas trees are not eco-friendly

Why PE Christmas trees are not eco-friendly?
1. Oncor is a values-driven enterprise. We have opted to not produce any PE Christmas tree because PE trees are made of Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE), with very high Melt Flow Index (MFI), by plunger type injection moulding machine, therefore, the tips of PE leaves cannot be injected with 100% recycled PE plastics.
2. Unlike PVC which is by nature a flame retardant plastic, PE is a highly flammable plastic that requires to use toxic flame retardants like antimony trioxide (ATO) in the production processes.
3. ATO can accumulate in aquatic ecosystems and disrupt the food chain. It is toxic to various aquatic organisms, with trivalent forms (like ATO) being more harmful than other states.
4. ATO is difficult to recover from plastics, hindering the recycling process. When products containing ATO are landfilled or incinerated, they can leach chemicals or release harmful particulate matter.
5. As such, PE trees are not eco-friendly.

Why are PVC Christmas trees naturally flame retardant?
1. The Recycled PVC plastic material used in all Oncor Recycled Christmas trees does not need treating by flame retardant chemicals.
2. PVC is by nature a flame retardant plastic as defined by its limiting oxygen index score. In fact, PVC is an inherently fire resistant plastic, the only exception among the general-purpose plastics, since it contains more than 50% of chlorine.
3. When PVC products are burned, hydrogen chloride gas resulting from thermal cracking slows down the continuous combustion reaction and prevents burning progress by warding off the PVC product surface from oxygen in the air.
4. Source: PVC Forum

Are Oncor Christmas trees made from lead-free PVC plastic?
1. Yes, Oncor Christmas trees are made from tin-based recycled PVC plastic instead of lead-based PVC plastic.
2. Regular testing is conducted to ensure that our Christmas trees adhere to all applicable regulatory standards.
3. For the results of our most recent PVC plastic lab tests, please email us.

Why does Oncor mainly produce hooked trees instead of hinged trees?
1. Hooked trees are flat-packed in smaller tree boxes with individual branches.
2. This reduces packaging sizes and saves on packaging materials and freight.
3. It is also one of Oncor's eco-friendly measures to minimize our environmental footprint.
4. Additionally, hooked trees can support more decorations than similarly-sized hinged trees and are easier to shape tree branches tip by tip.
5. As such, hooked trees may look much fuller after shaping.

Do you test your trees to make sure they are complying with regulations?
1. We conduct internal scheduled testing at least 10 times each production day by using our own testing equipment: Hitachi XRF Analyzer EA1000AIII to ensure that all of our purchased materials and parts, as well as our finished products adhere to the applicable regulatory standards.
2. In addition to frequent internal testing of our trees, we also send materials, parts, and finished products to two third-party Quality Assurance labs: Intertek and SGS for laboratory testing that ensures our trees comply with both American and European standards.

How eco-friendly are Oncor trees versus PE trees answered by Google Gemini?

Google Gemini AI Chat:

Q1: Why Oncor recycled Christmas trees are eco-friendly?

A1: Oncor recycled Christmas trees are considered eco-friendly primarily because they are manufactured using 100% recycled PVC plastic instead of virgin (newly produced) materials.

According to data cited by Oncor from the University of Cambridge, virgin PVC produces roughly 15.84 times more emissions than recycled plastic.

Oncor Recycled Christmas Trees
Key Eco-Friendly Features

• Reduced Fossil Fuel Use: By upcycling existing PVC material, the production process significantly reduces the consumption of fossil fuels required to create new plastics.

• Extended Product Life: Oncor trees are designed for extreme durability, with an industry-leading lifespan of 30 to 50 years. This longevity minimizes the total environmental impact by reducing the frequency of tree replacements and associated manufacturing emissions over decades.

• Non-Toxic Materials: Unlike many traditional artificial trees that use lead-based stabilizers, Oncor trees use tin-based stabilizers and are free from lead and other toxic heavy metals.

• Naturally Flame Retardant: The recycled PVC used is inherently flame retardant due to its high chlorine content, meaning it does not require additional chemical flame-retardant treatments.

• Lower Shipping Emissions: Oncor uses "hooked tree" construction, which allows trees to be flat-packed into smaller boxes. This reduces packaging material and saves on freight-related carbon emissions.

• Sustainable Packaging: The storage boxes are made from strong, recycled corrugated cardboard with a resin coating to resist moisture, allowing them to be reused for many years.

Q2: Why Oncor says, "PE trees are not eco-friendly." on its sustainability webpage?

A2: Oncor states that PE Christmas trees are not eco-friendly because they require virgin plastics, rather than 100% recycled materials, due to the high-MFI LDPE plastic used in injection molding.

Furthermore, the company cites that the required toxic, non-recyclable flame retardant Antimony Trioxide (ATO) poses significant environmental and safety risks during production and disposal. For more details, visit Oncor Sustainability FAQ.
Q3: But most consumers believe that PE trees are more eco-friendly than PVC trees?

A3: Consumers often view Polyethylene (PE) trees as more eco-friendly because they are widely marketed as a "safer" and "more realistic" alternative to traditional Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC).

This perception stems from several factors that contrast with Oncor's specific sustainability claims:

Why Consumers Perceive PE as "Greener"?

• Health Safety: Many health and environmental groups, such as the Center for Environmental Health, recommend PE or PP (polypropylene) over PVC because PE is typically free of phthalates and lead stabilizers, which are common in low-quality PVC trees.

• Durability and Realism: PE branches are injection-molded to look like real needles and are generally more resilient to bending and "yellowing" over time than PVC. Consumers believe that because these trees look better and last longer (often 10–15+ years), they are less likely to be thrown away quickly.

• Cleaner Disposal: PE has a simpler chemical structure that is generally considered "cleaner" to incinerate or landfill compared to PVC, which can release dioxins and chlorine-based toxins when burned or degraded.

The Conflict with Oncor's Stance

Oncor's argument focuses on manufacturing limits and chemical additives that general consumer advice often overlooks:

• Recycled Content: While most PE trees use "virgin" (new) plastic because the injection-molding process for fine needle tips requires high-purity material, Oncor focuses on 100% Recycled PVC. In their view, upcycling existing waste is more sustainable than creating new PE, even if PE is a "safer" base plastic.

• Flame Retardants: Oncor highlights that PE is highly flammable and requires additives like Antimony Trioxide (ATO) to meet fire safety standards. While consumers see "PVC-free" as a win for health, Oncor argues this replaces one problem with another—toxic flame retardants that are persistent in the environment.

Comparison Summary:

Feature	Consumer Perception (PE)	Oncor’s Stance (Recycled PVC)
Material Source	Often virgin plastic; realistic and durable	100% recycled; upcycles waste.
Toxicity	Lower risk of lead and phthalayes	Uses tin-based stabilizers; no lead.
Fire Safety	Requires flame retardant additives (ATO)	inherently flame retardant.
Longevity	High (10-15 years) due to molded tips	Exceptional (30-50 years) via durability.