By Tom Momberg
As the holidays draw to a close and Queens residents put away their decorations, they need to figure out what to do with their old, dried-up Christmas trees.
There are several environmentally friendly options the city gives for disposing of a tree.
The city Department of Sanitation said it will have a special collection of trees, free of charge. Sanitation workers will pick up natural Christmas trees at curbside from Tuesday, Jan. 5, to Friday, Jan. 15. The trees collected will be chipped and used for compost in the city’s parks and community gardens.
For the special pick-up, all ornaments, plastic, tinsel and lights must be removed from the trees, but they should not be bagged. Any time trees are left curbside outside of the special collection window, they will be collected as garbage, the Department of Sanitation said.
Artificial Christmas trees can be put out for recycling on regular recycling collection times year-round.
Residents can also recycle their old Christmas trees at MulchFest 2016, which is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 9, and Sunday, Jan. 10.
MulchFest is a collaborative effort between Sanitation, the city Department of Parks and Recreation and GreeNYC. Families simply have to take their old Christmas tree to any designated chipping station or drop-off location.
In Queens, the sites are the Oakland Gardens playground on the corner of 56th Avenue and Springfield Boulevard, Cunningham Park in Fresh Meadows, Captain Mario Fajardo Playground in Flushing, Roy Wilkins Park in Jamaica, Brookville Park in Rosedale, Forest Park near Forest Park Drive and Woodhaven Boulevard, Juniper Valley Park in Middle Village, Travers Park in Jackson Heights, Hunters Point South Park, the GreenThumb and Land Restoration Project Compound in Long Island City or Astoria Park.
Reach reporter Tom Momberg by e-mail at tmomb
