Now that all the gifts have been torn open, treasured or returned, it’s time to start disassembling (and storing, disposing of or donating) all your holiday decor. And lo, Mulchfest 2018 is upon us! You can drop off your Christmas Tree at McGolrick Park, McCarren Park or Transmitter Park from Sunday, December 31st to Sunday, January 7th to have it get turned into some very useful mulch. On January 6 and 7 from 10am to 2pm at McCarren Park (a chipping location), the Parks Department will chip your tree and give you your very own FREE bag of mulch! Make sure to strip down your tree and remove all lights, ornaments, and netting before bringing the tree to a MulchFest site.
You can also volunteer on Saturday, January 6th (11am-1pm) to help spread the mulch around McCarren Park to protect them from winter weather! Greening Greenpoint will be holding the tree stewardship event; to volunteer, you should register with NYC Parks and Greening Greenpoint.
The NYC Department of Sanitation will also be conducting special curbside collections for mulching and recycling of Christmas trees. Read below for more info on how to dispose of your holiday decor:
Via the Department of Sanitation:
Composting: Weather permitting, DSNY will collect and compost clean Christmas trees left at the curb from Tuesday, January 2, 2018 through Saturday, January 13, 2018. The trees will be chipped, mixed with leaves, and recycled into rich compost for NYC’s parks, institutions, and community gardens. Remove all lights, ornaments, stands, and plastic bags from your tree; trees that still have these items attached will be collected as garbage.
Recycling Artificial Trees:Â For fake trees that are mostly metal or rigid plastic, make sure to strip off all the ornaments and put out the tree next to your recycling container on regular recycling days.
Garbage:Â Except for the dates indicated in early January, Christmas trees are collected as garbage. Discard fake trees that are not mostly metal or rigid plastic with regular trash.
Donating Artificial Trees: Donate or sell used artificial trees that are good condition. Use donateNYC to find a place to sell or donate your tree.