How To Get Rid Of Your Christmas Tree In NYC

NEW YORK, NY — Has your Christmas tree gotten a little dry and sad since the holidays? Starting Tuesday, you can send it to greener pastures just by dropping it on the curb.

The Department of Sanitation will be picking up Christmas trees from Jan. 2 to 13 to be chipped and recycled into compost for the city's parks and community gardens, officials said. Sanitation workers collected more than 242,000 trees after Christmas last year.

Metal and plastic Christmas trees can be recycled by putting them out on the curb on your normal recycling collection day.

New Yorkers can also drop off trees at the Parks Department's annual "MulchFest" on Jan. 6 and 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Workers will be collecting trees for recycling at dozens of locations across the five boroughs.

The Parks Department will also operate several tree drop-off sites until Jan. 7 for those who can't make it to MulchFest.

"While Christmas trees are in our homes for only a short period of time, recycling can give them a longer life," Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia said in a statement. "After collection, the trees are turned into compost to give life to plants in our city’s parks and community gardens."

While the city is happy to take your tree, it doesn't want your decorations. Trees should be free of ornaments, tinsel, stands and lights before they go out on the curb and should not be wrapped in bags, the Sanitation Department said.

Also Watch: More Ways To Get Rid Of Your Christmas Tree

(Lead image: Discarded Christmas trees await collection in New York City on Jan. 14, 2014. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)