How to recycle your Christmas tree if you live in New York City
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Now that Christmas is officially over, you might be wondering how to properly dispose of your tree -- whether it is real or artificial.
The New York City Department of Sanitation announced its Christmas tree collection guidance for residents Monday.
Residents of Brooklyn and Queens who already receive curbside composting collection can place their tree out with their food scraps and yard waste for collection on their regularly scheduled compost and recycling day.
This year marks the first time that trees can be set out for curbside compost collection.
As for people who live in the Bronx, Manhatan or Staten Island, trees can be put out for collection beginning Friday, January 5 until Saturday, January 13. In these three boroughs, Christmas trees will be collected separately from trash and recycling, so pick up may not occur immediately.
Residents of all five boroughs should remove all stands and decorations before putting trees out for collection. Trees must not be wrapped in plastic bags.
Once collected, Christmas trees will be chipped, mixed with leaves and recycled into compost for the city.
If you are looking to dispose of an artificial tree, remove the metal base and trunk and place them with other metal recycling.
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