Mulchfest is back: Here’s how to recycle your Christmas tree in NYC

Photo credit: NYC Parks / Daniel Avila

With the holidays behind us, there’s no better way to officially wrap up the season than sustainably disposing of your Christmas tree. The Parks Department’s annual Mulchfest started on December 26 and will run through January 8, with 73 drop-off sites across the five boroughs for New Yorkers to bid “fir-well” to the holidays. On January 7 and 8 between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., residents can bring their trees to one of the city’s 35 chipping sites, watch them be chipped, and take a bag of mulch home.

Photo credit: NYC Parks / Daniel Avila

NYC Parks and the DSNY will use the mulch from the trees to maintain healthy plant life all across the city, from the thousands of trees that line the streets to foliage in city parks. Instead of ending up in garbage dumps, the trees will be recycled and put back into the environment in the form of mulch.

According to the city, more than 50,600 trees were recycled last year. After making sure to remove all lights and ornaments, participants can bring their trees to one of the 73 sites across the five boroughs:

Bronx
Bronx River House Parking Lot at Starlight Park
Friends of Brook Park Community Garden
Co-Op City
Metropolitan Oval Parkcheter
Pelham Bay Park
Soundview Park
St. James Park
Van Cortlandt Park
Williamsbridge Oval Park

Brooklyn
Amazing Garden
Brooklyn Bridge Park
Brooklyn Heights Promenade
Brower Park
Cobble Hill Park
Coffey Park
Domino Park
Fort Greene Park
Green Space at 222 Fifth Avenue
Herbert Von King Park
Maria Hernandez Park
Marine Park
McCarren Park
McGolrick Park
Myrtle Village Green
Owl’s Head Park
Prospect Park
Sunset Park
Washington Park

Manhattan
The Battery
Carl Schurz Park
Central Park
Brigadier General Charles Young Playground
Corlears Hook Park
DeWitt Clinton Park
Inwood Hill Park
J Hood Wright Park
Marcus Garvey Park
Morningside Park
Riverside Park
St. Nicholas Park
Stuy Town
Tompkins Square Park
Union Square Park
Washington Square Park

Queens
Astoria Park
Captain Mario Fajardo Playground
Cunningham Park
Forest Park
Francis Lewis Park
Hunter’s Point South Park
John Golden Park
Juniper Valley Park
Queensbridge Park
Queens County Farm Museum
Rockaway Beach
Roy Wilkins Park
Travers Park
Windmill Community Garden
Windmuller Park at Lawrence Virgilio Playground

Staten Island
Clove Lakes Park
Conference House Park
Midland Beach
Silver Lake Tennis House
Tappen Park
Westerleigh Park
Willowbrook Park
Wolfe’s Pond Park

The city’s Department of Sanitation will also collect and compost trees curbside starting Friday, January 6 through Saturday, January 14,

Want to volunteer at Mulchfest? Learn more here. For more information on Mulchfest, as well as the full list of Mulchfest drop-off and chipping sites, you can visit nyc.gov/parks/mulchfest.

Editor’s note: The original version of this article was published on January 4, 2022, and has since been updated with new information.