On Saturday, January 11th and Sunday, January 12th, NYC’s annual Mulchfest tradition will recycle New Yorker’s Christmas trees into mulch, and you can begin dropping your trees off today, December 26th.
Once you’re ready to say goodbye to the holiday season, bring your tree to any of the Mulchfest locations throughout the five boroughs, and the NYC Parks Department will chip your tree into wood chips that will be used to nourish trees and make NYC even greener. (Note: some locations are drop-off only and do not include chipping. Check on the NYC Parks Department website before heading out.)
If you’d like to hang onto your tree for a bit longer and keep the festivities going, you can wait until actual Mulchfest weekend (Saturday, January 11thth and Sunday, January 12th) to drop it off, where they’ll chip your tree in front of you and give you your very own bag of mulch to use in your backyard!
And, if you’d like to help out even more, you can volunteer with the Stewardship Team to help spread mulch from Mulchfest around NYC’s trees to insulate them from the cold weather. (You can register for that on the NYC Parks Department website.)
The annual Mulchfest event is created in partnership between NYC Parks and the New York City Department of Sanitation. You can find your closest drop-off location online.
More than 46,626 trees were recycled last year, and this season they’re looking to top this number! Help out the community and start off 2025 a bit greener! What better way to help our favorite NYC parks and green spaces?
Please note: Remember to remove all lights, ornaments, and netting before bringing your tree to a Mulchfest site!