Recycle Your Evergreens For Reuse
With the Christmas season drawing to a close, the city has set up programs to allow the public to properly dispose of or recycle their live Christmas trees.
The Parks Department is once again holding their “MulchFest” next weekend, whereby residents can bring their live trees (void of ornaments, tinsel and other decorations) to 80 public parks across the five boroughs, including a number of locations in the Times Newsweekly’s coverage area.
Every evergreen brought to MulchFest will be chipped by the Parks Department for free and transformed into mulch. The collected mulch will then be used by the department to enrich tree pits and flowerbeds in public parks; members of the public can also grab a bag of mulch for their own gardens.
Chipping sites will be open on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 12 and 13, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Residents can also bring their trees to drop-off sites between Wednesday, Jan. 9, and Sunday, Jan. 13.
The local chipping sites include the following:
– Astoria Park, corner of 19th Street and Hoyt Avenue in Astoria;
– Forest Park Bandshell parking lot, on Forest Park Drive off Wood- haven Boulevard;
– Juniper Valley Park, 80th Street between Juniper Boulevards North and South in Middle Village;
– Land Restoration Project Compound, corner of Queens Plaza South and 10th Street in Long Island City;
– McCarren Park, corner of Driggs Avenue and Lorimer Street in Greenpoint; and
– Travers Park, corner of 78th Street and 34th Avenue in Jackson Heights.
Maria Hernandez Park, located at the corner of Knickerbocker Avenue and Suydam Street in Bushwick, and McGolrick Park, located at the corner of Driggs Avenue and Monitor Street in Greenpoint, serve as dropoff locations.
For more information on MulchFest 2013, log on to www.nycgovparks. org/ highlights/ festivals/ mulchfest.
In the meantime, the Sanitation Department (DSNY) has launched its special Christmas tree curbside collection and recycling program, which began yesterday, Wednesday, Jan. 2, and continues through next Saturday, Jan. 12.
Homeowners and tenants may leave their live trees-again, void of any and all decorations-on the curb for collection by the Sanitation Department. Trees which are left on the curb for collection may not be in plastic bags; any bagged trees will not be collected by the DSNY.
All evergreens picked up by the Sanitation Department will be chipped and turned into compost for use in the city’s public parks, ballfields and community gardens. Last year, the DSNY collected over 140,000 Christmas trees.
“Providing collection and recycling options for residents is environmentally valuable and benefits our neighborhoods,” said Sanitation Commissioner John J. Doherty. “Working in conjunction with the city’s Parks and Recreation Department allows residents to take part in the recycling process and permits them to even reuse their composted Christmas trees to fertilize for the spring.”
“Christmas Day has come and gone, but you can continue the spirit of giving by recycling your Christmas tree to nourish the plants and trees of New York City,” added Parks Commissioner Veronica M. White.
To learn more about the Christmas tree recycling program, call 311 or visit www.nyc.gov/sanitation.
