NYC Parks Celebrates New Year of Recycling Trees at Mulchfest 2015

This weekend, New Yorkers celebrated the 19th annual MulchFest by recycling their Christmas trees at over 80 locations across the city. NYC Parks, partnering with the Department of Sanitation, GreeNYC, and numerous community organizations, provides New Yorkers with the opportunity to act sustainably and mulch their Christmas trees into wood chips that will be used to nourish parks and gardens throughout the city. Participants were also invited to take a free bag of mulch home. This year's MulchFest recycled nearly 30,000 trees.

"This city is committed to being the greenest big city in the world, and events like MulchFest are an important step toward achieving this critical goal. MulchFest is helping us build a more sustainable city while teaching young New Yorkers to incorporate environmentally-friendly habits into their daily lives. I want to thank the Department of Sanitation, GreeNYC, and the community members and sponsors who helped make this event possible," said Mayor Bill de Blasio.

"It is events like MulchFest that allow us, as New Yorkers, to give back to our parks," said NYC Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP. "Mulch is so beneficial to the environment, keeping our trees and plants healthy and full of nutrients. Thanks to the Department of Sanitation, GreeNYC, our sponsors, and of course, our passionate and conscientious community members who brought their trees to our many sites."

On Thursday, January 8, Commissioner Silver joined DSNY Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, State Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh, City Councilmember Rosie Mendez, GreeNYC Director Roya Kazemi, State Senator Brad Hoylman representative Maya Kurien, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer representative Hally Chu, Parks' First Deputy Commissioner Liam Kavanagh, Community Board 3 Chairman Thomas Yu, Community Board 3 members Karlin Chan, Trevor Holland, Ayo Harrington and Carolyn Ratcliffe, members of the community and press, and GreeNYC mascot Birdie in Tompkins Square Park to kick off things off. In frigid, but sunny weather, the group chipped the first trees of MulchFest 2015.

"This is the 19th year that the Department of Sanitation has joined with the Parks Department in MulchFest to make our environment more sustainable by recycling discarded Christmas trees," said DSNY Commissioner Garcia. "The joy that a lighted tree brings for Christmas goes well beyond the holiday season. The chipped trees become compost that will nourish parks, gardens, and woodsy public areas in our City's many parks all year round. Remember to remove all lights and ornaments before bringing the trees to a Mulch Fest site. I encourage all New Yorkers to participate in this environmentally friendly event to keep our City greener and to beautify our parks and neighborhoods."

"By recycling Christmas trees that would otherwise end up in landfills, MulchFest brings New Yorkers together to maintain our environment, beautify our parks and make our city more sustainable," said Senator Brad Hoylman (D-Manhattan). "I'm grateful to the NYC Parks Department and all of their dedicated employees for making this annual event possible."

"MulchFest gives Christmas trees a second life, providing mulch to help our critical street trees thrive," said City Council Member and Parks Committee Chair Mark Levine. "With more trees to take care of than ever due to the Million Trees Initiative, it's great to see so many New Yorkers participating this year."

"Mulching Christmas trees is a great addition to our holiday traditions that makes our city more sustainable and our parks, community gardens, and other green spaces thrive," said Assemblymember Brian Kavanagh. "I applaud the Parks and Sanitation Departments for continuing this important annual program and encourage everyone to take part and bring out their trees!"

"MulchFest is a perfect example of a smart recycling program that's a win-win for New Yorkers," said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. "Thanks to MulchFest, tens of thousands of Christmas trees aren't trash - they're nourishment, keeping our city's parks, gardens, and trees green and growing."

MulchFest 2015 is sponsored by Whole Foods Market New York City and 92.3 AMP Radio.

This year, NYC Parks will not only be counting recycled trees, we'll also be launching our Trees Count! 2015 tree census to count every street tree on every city block. For more information on how you can volunteer, visit www.nyc.gov/parks/treescount or call 311.

Photo Credit: Daniel Avila

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