Rent-A-Tree
We said a very unceremonious goodbye to our Christmas tree this week (more on that later). But, we didn't send it to the trash heap or the recycler — we had to give it back to be replanted. See, this year, we rented our Christmas tree.
I always liked real trees, and I never thought twice about buying them and then recycling afterwards, but that changed when I met my husband. He doesn't believe in killing trees for decoration, so we were in a quandary. Two years ago, we bought a live tree, which probably wasn't all that "live" to begin with, since it kicked the bucket soon and blighted our balcony with its deadness for a long time after Christmas. Oh well, we tried to do the right thing.
As we all know, last year we didn't have a tree up due to moving, a certain person's birth, etc.
This year, we tried a different option. A company called "Siempre Verde" will rent you a live tree, then take it back afterwards and replant it. Great idea, right? It wasn't as simple as it sounded, though. So in brief, about renting a tree:
The Good:
We felt ecological. I got my tree, my husband didn't live with its blood (sap) on his hands.
The Bad:
This company was extremely disorganized. The ordering process was unwieldy, they made me print out and scan proof that I had made my payment on PayPal (which is un-green and also betrays a total lack of understanding of how PayPal works). They didn't answer e-mails. They refused to try and help me out with the fact that my condo doesn't accept deliveries after 6:00 p.m.
The day the tree was supposed to arrive, I notified the nanny. Of course, when I tell her anything like that (a repairman is coming, something will be delivered, etc.) that's pretty much the kiss of death and 95% of the time it doesn't happen. And sure enough, it didn't arrive while I was at work. Then, it didn't arrive before my condo's 6:00 p.m. delivery deadline (which is pretty loosely enforced anyway). The company told me not to worry, that if it had to arrive at 2 in the morning, it would get there. This was not comforting to me, since the delivery window was supposedly 8 am to 8 pm. While I admired their persistence, I was not cool with receiving a tree in the wee hours of the morning.
It eventually arrived, at like 7:59 pm.
I always liked real trees, and I never thought twice about buying them and then recycling afterwards, but that changed when I met my husband. He doesn't believe in killing trees for decoration, so we were in a quandary. Two years ago, we bought a live tree, which probably wasn't all that "live" to begin with, since it kicked the bucket soon and blighted our balcony with its deadness for a long time after Christmas. Oh well, we tried to do the right thing.
As we all know, last year we didn't have a tree up due to moving, a certain person's birth, etc.
This year, we tried a different option. A company called "Siempre Verde" will rent you a live tree, then take it back afterwards and replant it. Great idea, right? It wasn't as simple as it sounded, though. So in brief, about renting a tree:
The Good:
We felt ecological. I got my tree, my husband didn't live with its blood (sap) on his hands.
The Bad:
This company was extremely disorganized. The ordering process was unwieldy, they made me print out and scan proof that I had made my payment on PayPal (which is un-green and also betrays a total lack of understanding of how PayPal works). They didn't answer e-mails. They refused to try and help me out with the fact that my condo doesn't accept deliveries after 6:00 p.m.
The day the tree was supposed to arrive, I notified the nanny. Of course, when I tell her anything like that (a repairman is coming, something will be delivered, etc.) that's pretty much the kiss of death and 95% of the time it doesn't happen. And sure enough, it didn't arrive while I was at work. Then, it didn't arrive before my condo's 6:00 p.m. delivery deadline (which is pretty loosely enforced anyway). The company told me not to worry, that if it had to arrive at 2 in the morning, it would get there. This was not comforting to me, since the delivery window was supposedly 8 am to 8 pm. While I admired their persistence, I was not cool with receiving a tree in the wee hours of the morning.
It eventually arrived, at like 7:59 pm.
We were delighted to see it, although its plastic pot was kind of ugly. The company had covers that you could buy, but they had ran out, and I was too lazy to make something.
Speaking of the ugly...
The Ugly
When I reserved the tree, I had to choose the day it would be picked up. January 9 was one of the first options, and that sounded fine since it was the day I had to go back to work, plus it was the Monday after Three Kings Day which is the official end of the holiday season here in Mexico.
So I told the nanny to take off the decorations and that someone would come by and pick up the tree that day. Of course (see above regarding the kiss of death), that didn't happen. I tweeted the company and nada. The next morning, while I was at work, the condo caretaker told the nanny the local government was going to recycle trees, so it was the day to leave them curbside. Since I had not specified WHO would come by and pick up the tree, she figured this was her chance.
OH CRAP.
Awhile later, she answered the phone at home and it was Siempre Verde, calling to schedule pickup. (Imagine that, since I had already scheduled delivery WHEN I RENTED THE DANG THING.) At this point she realized she did something wrong, called me at work and I had a heart attack. (I was imagining how much we'd be charged for not returning this silly tree, which we'd already paid more for than a regular "dead" tree costs. Turns out it wouldn't have been too much, but it would definitely have defeated the whole "green" purpose.) Fortunately, the tree recycling people had not come by yet and we were able to rescue the poor tree from turning into mulch.
So, will we do this again next year? I don't know. I loved the idea but the execution was horrible. I know it wasn't just us because I saw a lot of comments like mine on Twitter. ("Hey, when are you bringing/picking up my tree? Hello?") Maybe Siempre Verde will get better at what they're doing, or maybe some competitor will enter the market. We'll see....
Like Kermit said... it's not easy being green.
Speaking of the ugly...
The Ugly
When I reserved the tree, I had to choose the day it would be picked up. January 9 was one of the first options, and that sounded fine since it was the day I had to go back to work, plus it was the Monday after Three Kings Day which is the official end of the holiday season here in Mexico.
So I told the nanny to take off the decorations and that someone would come by and pick up the tree that day. Of course (see above regarding the kiss of death), that didn't happen. I tweeted the company and nada. The next morning, while I was at work, the condo caretaker told the nanny the local government was going to recycle trees, so it was the day to leave them curbside. Since I had not specified WHO would come by and pick up the tree, she figured this was her chance.
OH CRAP.
Awhile later, she answered the phone at home and it was Siempre Verde, calling to schedule pickup. (Imagine that, since I had already scheduled delivery WHEN I RENTED THE DANG THING.) At this point she realized she did something wrong, called me at work and I had a heart attack. (I was imagining how much we'd be charged for not returning this silly tree, which we'd already paid more for than a regular "dead" tree costs. Turns out it wouldn't have been too much, but it would definitely have defeated the whole "green" purpose.) Fortunately, the tree recycling people had not come by yet and we were able to rescue the poor tree from turning into mulch.
So, will we do this again next year? I don't know. I loved the idea but the execution was horrible. I know it wasn't just us because I saw a lot of comments like mine on Twitter. ("Hey, when are you bringing/picking up my tree? Hello?") Maybe Siempre Verde will get better at what they're doing, or maybe some competitor will enter the market. We'll see....
Like Kermit said... it's not easy being green.
Awesome try! What type of tree was it?
Sort of like Arbor day in honor of Christ!
More power to you...I would have tried the same thing.
Lv
Christy
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You might remind Francisco that trees are a renewable resource.
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Hey, what about a fake tree? Fairly green since it lasts for many years. No fear of whether the thing will survive its sojourn in su casa, etc.
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I know, it seems like the perfect solution, if not for its... fakery. I don't know, I just can't get excited about a plastic tree. The smell, the dropping pine needles everywhere. There's something about a real tree... for me at least.
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