Mulchfest in Astoria Park, January 12 and 13

This weekend, Saturday January 12 and Sunday January 13, Astoria residents can bring their holiday trees and wreaths to Astoria Park to be chipped and turned into mulch that will help protect city trees. And you can take home a bag of fragrant mulch to use in gardens or help your own favorite street tree to get through the winter.

The hours are from 10 am to 2 pm both days, and you should enter the chipping site at the parking lot at Hoyt Ave and 19th St. You should remove all lights, ornaments, tree stands and netting from the tree. Bags will be provided if you want to take some free mulch home.

If you want to dispose of plastic or metal fake trees, places to donate can be found at nyc.gov/donate, but alternatively NYC Sanitation recommends removing all ornaments and lights,  disassembling the artificial tree and putting it out next to your recycling on regular recycling days.

Photo: Mulch from Mulchfest, Astoria Park; photo credit, Green Shores NYC

Clare Doyle

Clare Doyle is a graduate of the M.A. program in Museum Studies at the University of Leicester, UK. She also holds a Graduate Diploma in Library and Information Studies as well as a B.A. in Archaeology and History from University Dublin, Ireland. She has worked for 30 years in library reference publishing in New York. Clare is the Vice President of Green Shores NYC, a non-profit group that advocates for a cleaner, greener and more connected waterfront in Astoria and Long Island City