How to Recycle Christmas Lights
How to Recycle Christmas Lights
It’s that time of year when you pull out the tangled mass of string lights from the attic to decorate for the holidays. Inevitably, once you finally get them untangled, you discover that half of them are burnt out or broken. Is there anything that can be done with them or do you just have to throw them in the trash? Actually, most communities do have places you can recycle Christmas lights. Many of these programs will take broken extension cords as well.
Places That Take Holiday String Lights for Recycling
City or County Recycling/Waste Disposal Centers. First of all, many communities will take lights to be recycled this time of year. Check with your city or county recycling program and see if there is a designated drop-off place and time. My county solid waste district takes lights from December through January 15. Do NOT put them in your regular recycling bin. There will usually be a bin at your city or county solid waste center to take them to.
Nonprofits. Many nonprofits will set up collection bins in public places and take the lights to a special recycling center as a fundraiser. Our zoo here in Cleveland does a “Lights for Lions” program which uses the proceeds generated from recycling the lights to fund lion and cheetah conservation. Check around and you may find that you can recycle your lights and support a great cause at the same time!
Retail stores. Some retail stores and hardware stores set up collections of holiday string lights this time of year. I checked with Home Depot, which used to take them but seems to have discontinued this program. However, a customer service rep at Lowe’s confirmed that they have a bin from now through the end of January, much like their seasonal plant pot recycling in the summer.
[Related: How to Recycle Plastic Plant Pots]
Metal recyclers. If you really have a lot of old string lights to recycle, it may be worthwhile to take them to a scrap metal recycling facility. Most metal recyclers will pay you for holiday lights, which have valuable copper wiring. Don’t expect to make a fortune though unless you have a LOT. Currently, you’ll make between 10 – 30 cents per pound.
Online options. If you have none of the above options available to you but you still would like to recycle your lights, you can send them to an online lights retailer like HolidayLEDs (you’ll get a 15% off coupon to buy new lights) or Christmas Light Source (you’ll get a 10% coupon and they will donate the proceeds to Toys for Tots).
What Happens to My Recycled Holiday Lights?
String lights are recycled by sending them to a special recycling facility that handles these types of materials, like a metal recycler. The lights are put through a shredder, and then the parts are separated into plastic, glass and copper. The copper is the most valuable part of the lights. The glass and plastic may or may not be recycled.
