In a single year in the United States, over 20 million pounds of holiday lights are discarded. These lights typically contain materials like copper, glass, and plastic—all of which can be reclaimed through recycling processes. By recycling instead of land-filling holiday lights, you conserve valuable resources, avoid energy intensive production of new materials, and prevent potentially harmful substances in the lights, such as lead and mercury, from leaching into our soil and water.
As with many other materials, you probably know recycling holiday lights is better than landfilling them but aren’t sure how or where to recycle them. The most important guideline to follow is never to put string lights in your curbside bin. They get tangled in the sorting equipment at the recycling facility and have to be manually taken out. Instead, find a drop-off site or recycling center that will accept holiday lights and recycle them properly. Not sure where to go? We can help!
My Green Earth has partnered with the Space Shop Self Storage to provide a convenient drop-off location in East Cobb. Bring your lights to be recycled for free at the Space Shop of East Cobb 2925 W Frank Gordy Parkway, Marietta. The collection bin is outside by the office door, and drop-off is available until Saturday, January 6, 2024. For more information: email info@mygreenearth.org.
