NYC Parks’ Mulchfest 2020 collects record number of trees

A family participated in Mulchfest this year. Photo courtesy of NYC Parks.

By Noah Singer

Mulchfest, NYC Parks’ Christmas tree recycling initiative, has collected more trees this season than ever before. 

The holiday season that debuted the year 2014 held the previous record, at 30,226 trees received citywide. Mulchfest 2020 gathered 48,230, an increase of over 60 percent. Queens collected a total of 4,912, according to AM New York.

This year’s initiative received trees at 67 drop-off sites at city parks and community gardens. The trees were then chipped into mulch that the Parks Department will distribute come Spring in order to revitalize parks and gardens, Department of Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia said. Participants who donated trees were also invited to take bags of mulch home. 

NYC Parks pointed to several factors for its record-breaking season. The program had an earlier start date this year, running from Dec. 26 to Jan. 11. In addition, chipping occurred on two separate weekends this year, when it usually is confined to one, and tree vendors dropped off three times as many trees as usual this year, at 9,000.

It gives me great pleasure to announce that our city’s residents have gone above and beyond as urban stewards this year,” said Parks Commissioner Mitchell Silver. “I would like to thank our partners at the Department of Sanitation, as well as every single individual who participated in this event, for doing their part to make our city even more sustainable. Here’s to 50,000 trees at Mulchfest 2021!”