"Tree-cycle" your Christmas tree with NYC Parks at MulchFest 2018

Now that Christmas is over, State Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. doesn’t want you to just throw your tree out, but instead, put it to good use by “tree-cycling” it during MulchFest 2018.

Once again, NYC Parks, the New York City Department of Sanitation, and GreenNYC have teamed up to help you recycle your Christmas trees into wood chips that will benefit trees and plants on streets and in gardens throughout the city. You can even take home a bag of mulch for yourself.

This year, MulchFest will take place on January 6 and 7, 2018 at select NYC Parks across the five boroughs.

The parks will be designated as either chipping locations, where you can bring your tree to be chipped and take your very own bag of mulch, or drop-off sites where you can bring your tree to be recycled later from Sunday, December 31, 2017 through Sunday, January 7, 2018.

“Recycling your Christmas tree is a great environmental way to continue to spread holiday cheer across the city. Your tree will be used in a multitude of ways to help the city’s trees to survive the cold season and grow strong in the spring,” Addabbo said. “By taking part in MulchFest, you will be making your city a better, and greener, place to live. Last year more than 26,000 trees were recycled during MulchFest. Let’s help grow that number even larger this year.”

Alternatively, the NYC Department of Sanitation will also be conducting special curbside pickups for mulching and recycling of Christmas trees from Tuesday, January 2, 2018 through Saturday, January 13, 2018.

Please be sure to remove all lights, ornaments, and netting before bringing the tree to a MulchFest site.

There are four parks within Addabbo’s district that will be participating in MulchFest 2018, and they are: drop-off only sites at the parking lot at Beach 11th Street and Beach 94th Street along Shore Front Parkway in Rockaway; and combined chipping and drop-off sites at Juniper Valley Park, located at 80th Street between Juniper Boulevard North and South in Middle Village; and Forest Park at Forest Park Drive and Woodhaven Boulevard.

For more information about MulchFest, drop-off and chipper locations, and how to volunteer, visit nyc.gov/parks or call 311.