By Gus Saltonstall
There are multiple ways to responsibly dispose of your Christmas tree in New York City in 2026.
The first is to haul your tree to one of the city’s designated Mulchfest drop-off sites, where the tree will then be turned into wood chips that Parks Department staff will use to nourish local green spaces.
This year’s Mulchfest runs from December 26 to January 11, and culminates on “Chipping Weekend” on January 10 and 11, when city workers will break down your tree and give you your very own bag of mulch to use however you’d like.
These special sites will be open that weekend from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Here are the official drop-off sites on the Upper West Side and in Morningside Heights.
- In Central Park near W. 67th Street (north side of Tavern on the Green entrance): Drop-off only
- In Central Park near the W. 81st Street entrance: Chipping site
- On Riverside Drive near W. 83rd Street: Chipping site
- In Morningside Park near West 123rd Street: Drop-off only
Remember to take off all lights, ornaments, and netting before bringing a tree to a Mulchfest site or to the sidewalk, the city requests. Last year, the city recycled 52,569 trees during Mulchfest, up from the 46,000 trees it recycled the year before.
If you don’t want to bring your tree to a Mulchfest location, you’ve got another option.
Last year, the Department of Sanitation announced that due to the expansion of the curbside composting program, city residents no longer have to wait for a specific time period to dispose of their trees. Instead, trees can be placed on the curb for collection on your compost days, which are the same days as the rest of your recycling gets picked up.
You can find your building’s collection schedule — HERE.
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Buying a Christmas tree is probably irresponsible in the first place.
I’m a Riverside Park volunteer and I have a request to make of tree tossers. If you’re not going to take your tree to a park mulching site, please just leave it at a street corner for Sanitation to pick up.
Many people think that by leaving their tree at a park entrance they’re doing a good deed, but it just burdens Conservancy and Parks employees with having to pick up random trees and take them to a mulching or dump site.
Worse, people toss their trees into fenced areas, so employees have to climb over fencing to haul the trees out.
And lastly: wreaths are wired together (garland, too) so they can’t be mulched. Please don’t dump them in the park!
Thank you for sharing! I feel like very few people are aware of mulch fest. I like knowing my tree is going to help the park.