Over 27 million Christmas trees are used and discarded every year in the U.S. But where do the trees go once they’re thrown out? Many cities actually have tree recycling programs in place — for New York, the recycling process happens the first two weeks of January, when the city sets up over 70 drop off locations. Then the trees are turned into mulch — in 2017, NYC’s “Mulchfest” turned 26,000 Christmas trees into mulch. This mulch actually serves as food for the vegetation in NYC parks.

The trees on the curb are also being recycled — for a decade, the department of sanitation has run a curbside program that recycles 240,000 trees per year. It's important to note though: ornaments and lights must be removed in order for the trees to be picked up.

Why do so many cities have these programs? Because tree recycling just makes sense — it also costs a lot of money to dispose of trees in the trash, so finding a productive use for the trees is actually good for them.

Because New York is on an island, the city’s trash travels as far as Ohio before it’s in a landfill. And urbanites produce trash on a huge scale — 12,000 tons of trash a day to be exact. So, keeping trees out of it, and turning them into mulch, is really a no brainer.