For anyone who does not yet have a Christmas tree, I have made a chart to help you decide what kind of tree to get. In four cases, I ranked the top two choices. Here‘s a link I found while creating this chart which shows where to recycle trees in Arizona.

Sources: 
Plastic decomposition: https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/do-plastics-go-away-when-theyre-ocean-or-great-lakes 

Real tree decay time estimate: https://northernwoodlands.org/knots_and_bolts/tree-falls-in-a-forest 

Average cost: https://earth911.com/home-garden/real-vs-artificial-christmas-trees/ 

Life cycle impact analysis: https://www.sightline.org/2015/12/21/your-christmas-trees-carbon-footprint/