Here's Where To Drop Your Christmas Tree In Astoria, LIC

ASTORIA, QUEENS — Instead of leaving your Christmas tree on the sidewalk after the holidays this year, there is a less wasteful way to dispose of the used-up conifer — drop it at one of the city's dozens of mulch sites, including a few in Western Queens.

This year, "Mulchfest" runs from Dec. 26 to Jan. 8. It includes tree drop-off sites around Astoria and Long Island City, where the Parks Department will take each tree and break it into wood chips to nourish city parks.

A few of the sites will also offer free mulch for New Yorkers to take home and nourish their own gardens or street trees.

Trees can be dropped off at any Mulchfest location during park hours until Jan. 8, while the "chipping" sites will have their mulch giveaways the weekend of Jan. 7-8, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. both days.

Here are the Mulchfest sites around Astoria and LIC:

• Astoria Park: 19th Street and Hoyt Avenue (chipping site)
• Queensbridge Park: Vernon Boulevard and Queensbridge Park Greenway (drop-off only)
• Windmill Community Garden: 39-22 29th St., between 39th and 40th avenues (drop-off only)
• Hunter's Point South Park: 51st Avenue and Center Boulevard (chipping site)
• Windmuller Park at Lawrence Virgilio Playground: 34th Drive and 54th Street, Sunnyside (drop-off only)

Remember to take off all lights, ornaments and netting before bringing a tree to a Mulchfest site, the Parks Department asks.

In 2020, Mulchfest collected 48,230 trees for recycling, from residents as well as tree vendors who dropped off their unsold trees. The event has run for more than 20 years.

View the full list of Mulchfest sites around New York here.