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Getting rid of a Christmas tree? What you need to know

December 31, 2019 Paula Katinas

Photo courtesy of Community Board 10

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BAY RIDGE – Now that the holiday season is coming to an end, residents are taking down their Christmas trees, putting the twinkling lights into storage and sweeping the last of the tinsel off the living room floor.

But what to do with that Christmas tree?

There is good news from Community Board 10 in Bay Ridge, which recently sent out a newsletter with handy information on how to end the holiday season in an environmentally-friendly way.

As part of its Mulchfest, the Department of Parks and Recreation gives residents two options and both involve tree-cycling. There’s the department’s drop-off sites in parks around the city, which started accepting trees on Dec. 26 and will continue to do so until Jan. 11.

The drop-off sites in Brooklyn include: Amazing Garden, the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, Brower park, Coffey Park, Green Space on President Street, Herbert Von King Park, McGolrick Park, Sunset Park and Washington Park.

Then there’s “Chipping Saturdays,” events organized by the Department of Parks to allow residents to bring their trees to be chipped for mulching.

There are two “Chipping Saturdays” in 2020, Saturday, Jan. 4 and Saturday, Jan. 11., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on both days.

Owl’s Head Park, located on Colonial Road and 67th Street in Bay Ridge, is a “Chipping Saturday” site. The sites in Brooklyn also include: Brooklyn Bridge Park, Cobble Hill Park, Fort Greene Park, Maria Hernandez Park, Marine Park, McCarren Park and Prospect Park.

“NYC Parks will chip your tree and give you your very own bag of mulch to use in your backyard or to make a winter bed for a street tree,” Board 10 leaders wrote in the newsletter.

Of course, residents can also discard their trees by throwing them out.

The Department of Sanitation will conduct curbside collection of Christmas trees from Monday, Jan. 6 to Friday, Jan. 17.

Be sure to remove all lights, ornaments and tinsel, as well as the tree stand.

For more information on how to safely discard your Christmas tree, visit: www.nyc.gov/parks.