Rob Basch, HPPC
Jan. 3, 2017 By Hannah Wulkan
Long Island City residents can get rid of their old Christmas trees by putting them through the wood chipper at Hunters Point South Park this weekend.
The Hunters Point Parks Conservancy has partnered with the Parks Department to participate in MulchFest, an annual event where Christmas trees are recycled into mulch.
The mulch is used to nourish green space citywide.
The event will take place Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and residents are encouraged to drop their trees off at the corner of Borden Avenue and Center Boulevard.
Last year, 600 trees were put through the chipper at the park. “We will try to top that number,” said Rob Basch, president of the HPPC.
The event will happen simultaneously at 78 parks throughout the city, offering an environmentally friendly way to dispose of Christmas trees.
Last year, more than 30,000 trees were turned to mulch citywide.
Those bringing trees should remove all lights and decorations ahead of time, and park staff will then help put them through a wood chipper to create mulch, which participants can bring home for personal use or leave for use in the city parks.
The Parks department will broadcast the kickoff event for MulchFest live on the Periscope app at http://periscope.tv/nycparks, which will feature a tree mulching demonstration.
The Department of Sanitation will also provide curbside collection of Christmas trees starting today and continuing through January 14.
For a full list of MulchFest locations and information on volunteering, visit https://www.nycgovparks.org/highlights/festivals/mulchfest.
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4 Comments
I would be very happy to recycle my tree into mulch. However, I live next to Queensboro Plaza and wish there were a closer spot since I don’t have a car to get the tree to Hunters Point.
I would definitely do that if I did not have to lug my 7 foot tree so many blocks. Since a chipper can be towed, why not have a few spots, or a couple chippers. I am guessing that NYC has a few. I actually think the best idea if they want mulch is to just hook it up to a truck and drive from building to building grabbing them. They are piled sky high all over the neighborhood.
… and sorry to sound grumpy but maybe the dept. of sanitation guys should volunteer. I saw a show on TV about them. These guys have decent jobs that pay better than most know and on top of that they get tons of overtime for driving plows. They retire fairly early and then they get a nice pension for the rest of their lives. After 5 years they make $90,000. With overtime they are making $150,000 a year collecting trash. Then early retirement and lifelong pensions. This is what is wrong with America today.
Nah, it’s entitled yuppie pansies like you that are wrong with America. Next time, don’t buy a 7-foot tree. Or give the poor guy who you want to do your work for you for nothing a tip. You don’t see corporate lawyers and financial analysts in LIC offering their services for free.