Press Contact: Sophie Cardona: (212) 361-2400, ext. 244 , or email cardona@informinc.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, DECEMBER 30, 2002

DON'T TRASH YOUR TREE!

INFORM'S "Waste-Free NYC" Program Sponsors Holiday Tree Chipping Events

New York, NY –- INFORM, a national environmental research organization based in New York City, today announced the first in a series of waste prevention programs targeting the city's residential waste stream. Waste-Free NYC, a new waste prevention program managed by INFORM and funded by the City Council through the Department of Sanitation of New York City, will be providing tree chipping services to residents who drop off their Christmas trees (cleaned of all ornaments, tinsel, and stands) at locations in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. In return, residents can bring home mulch for their own use or donate it to city parks and community gardens.

Because of recent budget cuts, the Department of Sanitation cannot recycle holiday trees this year as it has in the past. Trees left at the curb will be picked up, but they will be sent to a landfill or incinerator. Residents can give their tree a brighter future by bringing it to a tree chipping site. Mulched trees used in gardens and parks will add nutrients to soil, protect plant and tree root systems in the winter, and conserve water in the summer. Residents who bring their trees to be chipped can take home mulch for their gardens or for the street trees on their block.

The Waste-Free NYC sites listed below will be accepting trees that have been cleaned of all decorations, lights, and stands. This list is also available online at www.informinc.org/wfnyc_trees.php.

Waste-Free NYC is working in cooperation with the Parks Department and numerous civic and environmental groups, schools, and Boy Scouts troops, as well as commercial landscapers and tree specialists, to expand the number of sites so residents can conveniently drop off their trees. In addition to those listed below, there are other sites around the city provided by the Parks Department's Mulchfest, as well as other longstanding neighborhood efforts. Complete information about Mulchfest sites can be found at www.nyc.gov/parks or by calling 1-800-201-PARK.

"I hope these additional sites will make it easier for all New York City residents to take advantage of this service," said Eve Martinez, Director of New York City Waste Prevention Programs for INFORM. "Waste-Free NYC's 'Don't Trash Your Tree!' provides more opportunities for retired Christmas trees to enrich our city's green spaces, rather than our waste stream."

For more information about this and other Waste-Free NYC programs in New York City, contact Eve Martinez at 212-361-2400 x 229 or martinez@informinc.org.

COLLECTION SCHEDULE

Manhattan

Staten Island

Brooklyn

Queens

*In cooperation with the New York City Parks Department's Mulchfest. For more information about Mulchfest sites, call 1-800-201-PARK.

INFORM, Inc., is a national environmental research organization, based in New York City, that identifies practical ways of living and doing business that ensure environmentally sustainable economic growth. For over a decade, INFORM has been a leader in the search for practical ways to reduce municipal and commercial waste streams, publishing more than a dozen reports and manuals for businesses, government agencies, schools, and communities on strategies for preventing wastes at their source.