“Tree-cycling” Your Christmas Tree in NYC; Options include Curbside Collection and MulchFest
Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia announced that the New York City Department of Sanitation begins its annual Christmas tree curbside collection program on Tuesday, January 3. The program will run through Saturday, January 14, 2017, weather permitting.
City residents should remove all stands, tinsel, lights and ornaments before putting trees out for collection. Clean, non-bagged Christmas trees left on the curb between Tuesday, January 3 and Saturday, January 14, will be chipped, mixed with leaves, and recycled into rich compost for the city’s parks, institutions, and community gardens.
The Department of Sanitation collected more than 214,000 Christmas trees for “tree-cycling” after Christmas 2015.
“Recycling gives Christmas trees a life way past Christmas,” said Commissioner Garcia. “The tree in our homes today will be turned into compost to give life to plants in our city’s parks and community gardens. We thank all residents for taking part in the program.”
NYC Parks provides additional options for tree-cycling via their annual MulchFest event which will be held on Saturday, January 7 and Sunday, January 8 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at nearly 80 locations across the city. Participants may bring a bag to take home mulch for use in personal gardens. Those not able to attend MulchFest can use NYC Parks’ drop-off sites, which are accepting trees Saturday, December 31 through Sunday, January 8. To find chipping sites or drop-off locations, visit nyc.gov/parks and search “MulchFest.” Remove all lights, ornaments, decorations and netting from trees before attending the events.
“MulchFest is one of the many annual events that I look forward to because it’s such an easy way to show our commitment to caring for parks across the city,” said NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP. “By repurposing Christmas trees we provide plenty of mulch which serves to reinvigorate New York City’s urban forest. I’d like to thank the Department of Sanitation, GreeNYC, our sponsors, and of course the responsible community members who help support our mission to maintain sustainable parks and public spaces throughout the five boroughs.”
For more information on Christmas tree collection and recycling or MulchFest, visit www.nyc.gov/dsny, www.nyc.gov/parks or call 311.
About the New York City Department of Sanitation
The Department of Sanitation (DSNY) promotes a healthy environment through the efficient management of solid waste and the development of environmentally sound long-range planning for handling refuse, including recyclables. The Department operates 59 district garages and manages a fleet of more than 2,000 rear-loading collection trucks, 450 mechanical brooms and 689 salt/sand spreaders. The Department clears litter, snow and ice from approximately 6,500 miles of City streets and removes debris from vacant lots as well as abandoned vehicles from City streets.
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