Northeast Queens Recycling, Composting Opportunities in the New Year

Northeast Queens residents will have several opportunities to properly dispose of household items, including Christmas trees and old electronics, in the new year.

The Department of Sanitation will collect Christmas trees that are left at the curb without ornaments during the week of Jan. 6.

And residents will be able to take home tree mulch if they bring their Christmas trees to the Oakland Playground at P.S. 203, located at Springfield Boulevard and 56th Avenue, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Jan. 11 or 12.

The Queens Botanical Garden, located at 43-50 Main St. in Flushing, will hold an e-waste recycling event on Jan. 12 from 10 a.m. at 2 p.m.

Attendees can bring computers, fax machines, cell phones, televisions, cameras, stereo equipment and even tangles of broken holiday lights.

Visitors should enter the garden through its parking lot on Crommelin Street.For more information on which electronic items will be accepted, call 212-477-4022 or email info@lesecologycenter.org.

Participants will be able to enter a raffle for a new MacBook Air and coupons for Zipcar and Tekserve.

Lastly, the NYC Compost Project and Queens Botanical Garden are urging residents to compost kitchen scraps and turn them into rich, nutritious soil. For eight weeks, beginning in March, Queens residents will be able to learn about composting. Only 20 applications, which are due by Feb. 7, will be accepted for the program.

Participants will be able to purchase compost bins that include worms. On March 30, the Project will host a workshop on spring lawn care from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

For more information, call 718-539-5296 or email compost@queensbotanical.org.