Special Christmas Tree Collection is… NO LONGER SPECIAL

December 24, 2025

Real Trees and Wreaths are Collected Weekly, on Your Recycling & Compost Day;
Residents No Longer Must Wait for a Limited Tree Collection Schedule

Christmas Trees will be collected curbside this week. And next week. And the week after. And even in May!

Thanks to the expansion of citywide Curbside Composting, city residents no longer must follow a limited schedule to get rid of their real Christmas trees. Residents may place naked trees – trees without decoration, ornaments and stands – at the curb on their weekly composting and recycling day.

Christmas trees are treated similarly to the other material the Department collects for composting, where food scraps, food-soiled paper products and yard waste are turned in to finished compost or renewable energy.

Trees and wreaths should be set at the curb next to other compostable materials. Trees and wreaths should be undecorated and not wrapped in plastic bags.

Residents looking to get rid of an artificial tree should separate and remove the metal base and trunk and place those parts with their other metal recycling.

NYC Parks will also help recycle Christmas trees during Mulchfest, from December 26, 2025 through January 11, 2026. They will chip your tree into wood chips that they will use to nourish trees and make NYC greener. Learn more: nyc.gov/mulchfest.

About the New York City Department of Sanitation

The Department of Sanitation (DSNY) keeps New York City clean, safe, and healthy by collecting, recycling, and disposing of waste, cleaning streets, attacking the scourge of illegal dumping, and clearing snow and ice. The Department operates 59 district garages and manages a fleet of more than 2,000 rear-loading collection trucks, 450 mechanical brooms, 705 salt spreaders, and several dozen bike lane operations machines. Under the Adams Administration, the Department is aggressively cleaning more parts of the City than ever before, including over 1,000 long-ignored areas spread across every neighborhood. With the highest wintertime uniformed headcount in 20 years, DSNY is more equipped than ever to remove snow and ice from the approximately 19,000 lane-miles of City streets.

Press Release #25-45