Many people don’t begin taking down their Christmas or holiday decorations until after New Year. Some even wait until after Russian Christmas before putting Santa in a box for next year. One of the most popular decorations is a simple string of lights. With so many varieties, degrees of brightness and colors to choose from, it’s not uncommon to find yourself needing to get rid of old sets.
Some lights become faded or are even damaged during installation, take down and storage. Instead of throwing them away, consider recycling those old lights. When you throw them away, they clog up landfills, pose strangulation threats to animals and can break open and injure both people and animals. While not all components of a typical light set can be recycled, a good majority can be shredded, processed and sorted to be reused in other applications.
Call or visit the website of your village, town or county for information on possible holiday light recycling programs near you. They can instruct you on how to wrap or store your lights when you bring them in or guide you to someone that can give you that information. If you are in an area that has no suitable programs, contact earth911.com. They can find a recycler for nearly any item.
When it comes time to purchase new lights, consider LED bulbs. Not only are these much safer for our environment but they last longer and are much cooler to the touch than traditional bulbs.
Our Dumpster Tip of the Week is Courtesy of the Naperville Dumpster Rental Service! Thanks, Gang!
