MulchFest 2013

Posted in Programs and Events on January 7 2013, by Matt Newman

If you’ve got a Christmas tree looking all the worse for wear as the days drag out past the holiday, you’re not the only procrastinator in the city. And that’s good! Because by the time you’re fed up with watching your cat spelunk in the branches, raining dry pine needles across the whole of your living room, New York’s annual MulchFest will be ready to accommodate you. So don’t drag that saggy conifer to the curb just yet!

Taking place throughout the boroughs at the turn of each year, MulchFest is the most environmentally friendly means of disposing of your Christmas tree in NYC. Not only will it save room at the local dump (to say nothing of easing your garbage man’s frustrations), but delivering your tree to one of the many MulchFest locations will serve to nourish living plantings throughout the metropolitan area. At last year’s event, over 24,000 trees were recycled into mulch, smashing the previous record by a wide margin. And if you like, some of that mulch can be bagged and hauled home for use in your own garden–completely free of charge.

MulchFest is scheduled to take place the weekend of January 12 and 13 this year, though you’re welcome to take your tree to any one of the designated drop-off sites as early as this Wednesday, January 9. It makes it easier for those of us who’d rather not keep watering our ailing firs. Otherwise, you’ll want to take the tree to one of the chipping locations between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on either Saturday or Sunday. Just remember to be thorough with your light and ornament removal!

Click through to the official MulchFest page for a listing of drop-off or chipping locations in your borough, as well as marked spots where you’ll be able to pick up a biodegradable bag stuffed with fresh mulch. If nothing else, you’ll be helping to keep park plants and street trees thriving across the city (and you might just break another record in the process).