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DSNY has run collections for Christmas trees since 1994. Each year, approximately 1,500 tons of Christmas trees are shredded and cured as mulch. While Christmas trees—like leaves and yard trimmings—are easily segregated for separate collection, New Yorkers continue to leave lights, tinsel, ornaments, and even stands on their trees despite ongoing campaigns by DSNY to strip them “clean” before placing them at the curb. Because there is no practical way to remove these contaminants from collected trees, the resulting mulch is too full of plastic shreds to be used for most ornamental or landscaping purposes, and is usually reserved for extremely low-grade applications.

To counteract this problem, in 2003 DSNY joined forces with the Parks Department to set up Mulchfest sites in all five boroughs. New Yorkers bring their clean trees to these locations on designated days, and trees are then chipped or shredded by contractors hired by DSNY. The mulch can be taken home by residents for their own use, or left at the Mulchfest site for use by Parks. Nearly 9,000 trees are brought to Mulchfest every year, while an additional 150,000 are collected at the curb for processing by DSNY.

Check the nyc composting calendar in December for information on Christmas tree collection and Mulchfest.

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