Christmas lights recycling is probably one thing that most homeowners do not give much importance to. When the Christmas season is over and you realize that your lights are not fully functional anymore you do not think twice about just putting them in the garbage for disposal. Little did you know that disposing of these lights pose some threats and dangers to your community.
What is the importance of Christmas lights recycling?
What most people do not know is that electronic products like Christmas lights do not settle into the earth’s soil. Light strands are almost barely biodegradable and will take hundreds or thousands of years to decompose. After some time they will eventually start to produce hazardous chemicals that are extremely harmful to the environment. If you are an animal lover it will probably make you shudder to know that strands of lights can actually strangle animals who start innocently playing with them. They will end up strangled amongst the strands ultimately killing them in the process. You probably did not think that a strand of useless lights could be this dangerous. So what should be done about this? There are several ways to make sure that those lights that once used to brighten your tree and to adorn your home during the holidays do not end up in landfills.
What are the best ways of Christmas lights recycling?
Over the last several years a lot of stores have been accepting Christmas lights for recycling. You can opt to go for their exchange program. For instance, you can trade in up to five strings of junk strands of light in return for a $3 off your next purchase of LED lights. It is a pretty small price to pay for the peace of mind that you are helping Mother Nature in your own little way.
You may send your old lights through mail if you do not want to go through the hassle of going to the store yourself. With a little research you will find that there are quite a number of companies that are very active in lights recycling. In fact, they offer customers up to 25% off on their lights if they send in their old ones. The process in mailing your lights is quite easy. You just have to secure them in a small box bearing your name and mailing address. Once the company receives it you will then receive your discount coupon via mail.
If you want to give back to the community, you can also choose to donate your old Christmas lights. Check out any of the socio-civic organizations like the Rotary Club or charitable institutions like Habitat for Humanity. These organizations usually accept old lights and send them out for recycling. They will then use the proceeds to help assist low income families in your community. This is a great way for you to help the less privileged citizens at the same time you get to do something for Mother Earth by keeping your lights from going into landfills.
You may also choose to turn over your lights to a recycling company. Many recycling companies now offer rewards or discount coupons to people who send in their old lights. You just have to do a little bit of research to find out the nearest recycling company in your area.
If you want to collect old Christmas lights to send them to stores, recycling companies, or charitable institutions on a bigger scale, you can actually rally your neighbors and co-workers. Offer to be the one to collect their old lights for them by going door to door or by placing a donation box in your work area. With a little nudge and a gentle reminder from you, you will get more people to participate in your own little project. Enlist the help of the girl scouts or other children’s groups and make it a part of their community service project.
What happens after Christmas lights recycling?
After sorting through unusable lights that are sent to companies for recycling, the workers sort through the items first to remove anything that is not recyclable. Next, the lights are placed through a large shredding machine where the actual recycling happens. Christmas lights contain materials such as copper, glass and various plastics. During the recycling process they are removed and sorted out then they are sold to other companies so that manufacturers can make use of these materials to make new products. You can do your part in making the world a greener place to live in for this generation and the generations to come. It does not take much for you to help out. Do your part conserving the environment by exerting a little bit of effort in recycling Christmas lights.