With the holiday season over, the Suffern Department of Public Works kicked off its annual tree recycling program, turning scores of Christmas trees into mulch.

"We send them through the wood chipper and grind them up, and every year we do mulch for the residents, which is free," says Dan Haglund. of Suffern DPW.

Traditionally, workers begin hitting village streets immediately after Christmas, picking up fresh trees dumped on the curb and chop them up.

"You definitely get used to having the tree inside, and taking it down is kind of sad," says Tracy Heller, of Suffern. "But it gets to the point where now it?s time to move on, the holidays are over and get back to normal life."

The DPW is reminding people who want to have their trees recycled to remove all ornaments and holiday lights before leaving them on the curb.