A crew of Port Chester Department of Public Works employees inserts a tree into a woodchipper, which cuts it up in seconds and only leaves behind small wood scraps and the smell of pine on Saturday, Jan. 6. The Village of Port Chester and its Sustainability Committee held a Christmas Tree Chipping event in Lyon Park, where residents disposed of their evergreens in exchange for a take-home bucket of mulch. (David Tapia/Westmore News)
A pile of firs sits in Lyon Park, waiting for the woodchipper. Residents who missed the event and are still looking to dispose of their trees can put them out at the curb in front of their house; the Department of Public Works will collect them through the end of January. (David Tapia/Westmore News)
Sustainability Committee Co-Chair Brandon Hermoza-Ricci and member Kikki Short work in the cold to remove plastic cables from some garland. The plastic had to be taken off to run the wreath through the woodchipper. (David Tapia/Westmore News)
Department of Public Works employee Kevin Aguilar collects mulch into a bag for an attendee to take home. Residents brought reusable shopping bags, garbage bags, yard waste bags and buckets to collect the gardening materials. (David Tapia/Westmore News)
Department of Public Works Weekend Supervisor Mckinley Redd (left) and worker Anthony Ciuro put an evergreen into the waiting mouth of the woodchipper. (David Tapia/Westmore News)
After dropping off their tree, Alicia Barreto (left) warms up by drinking hot chocolate with her children Owen, 3, and Natalie, a Port Chester High School senior. The family lives on Poningo Street. (David Tapia/Westmore News)
Three-year-old Nate Butkiewicz of Locust Avenue tips over his family’s buckets of wood chips after their tree was shredded. (David Tapia/Westmore News)
Port Chester Sustainability Committee gives residents new use for discarded holiday pines
