NYC MulchFest 2026

Bring your Christmas tree to Riverside Park to be recycled into mulch that will nourish plantings in the Park all year long!

These wood chips are used to nurture trees and plants on street tree pits, paths, and gardens parkwide. But here’s the best part – you can take a bag of Christmas tree mulch home with you!

HERE’S HOW YOU CAN GET INVOLVED

1. Volunteer on Saturday, January 10 from 10am-2pm
Volunteers are needed to “de-Christmas” the trees left for recycling. We will be removing ornaments, lights, and getting the trees ready to chip. Then, we’ll spread Christmas tree mulch around street trees along Riverside Drive.

Please register on Eventbrite here.

2. “Tree-cycle” (from December 26 – January 31)
Recycle your Christmas tree in Riverside Park! Drop your tree at any park entrance and we will bring it to our chipping site to be “Tree-cycled”. The woodchips from your tree will be used as pine mulch, spread on pathways and street tree pits throughout the park. You can even take home a bag of mulch to provide warm winter protection for the street tree in front of your apartment. No need to register – drop off anytime in this timeframe.

More than 25,000 trees were recycled last year city-wide. Help us top this number!
**Note: Please remember to remove all lights and ornaments before bringing the tree to a MulchFest site.

For more info on citywide tree drop-off and chipping sites, please visit https://www.nycgovparks.org/highlights/festivals/mulchfest.