Talking of decorations and lights used at Christmas, it is good to know that you can reuse them or dispose of them where they are recycled. This is really useful.

How to Dispose of Broken Christmas Lights?

At many places, there are centers of the Home Depot, Lowe’s and more who collect your olds tuff weeks before Christmas and then recycle them to resell them at much lower prices. Some of the ways you can dispose of the damaged lights can start from here.

  • There are local recycling programs announced just in time of Christmas to collect these broken string of lights, not functional power cords, power strips and more in wholesale
  • These recycling programs are run in the state, by private companies most of the time, and by some centers of departmental stores like the Home Depot, Lowe’s and even Walmart at your respective nearest stores.
  • This big box retails stores have a long complex network of people and management systems that can start from disposal to recycling and reuse/resell them at huge discounts.
  • The broken lights and other such materials can be sent to the yard for disposal where they are separated, segregated, crushed and turned into raw materials.

How to Dispose of Old Christmas Lights?

Now, if you have a string of old Christmas lights and you wish to do something with them, there are many online videos and tutorials or ideas that you can pick up from. But, we shall list some of these ideas where you can learn ways to dispose and also recycle these old Christmas lights and decorations.

  • For changing into new pair of energy-saving LED strips or getting rid of old lights that do not work properly, learn that these lights are made of plastic, copper, glass and all of these are valuable materials for recycling.
  • The LEDs are energy efficient and can save more than 75% of your current bill compared to the old light bulbs.
  • You can start by contacting your local ‘City’s Municipality’ solid waste management office. You can give them a call or ask if they do take care of these things.
  • Depending on where you are located, as mentioned above, there are city-specific recycling programs. For example, in Washington DC, you have MOM’s Organic Markets.
  • Another such nation-wide and all-year-round program in the USA is from Dallas, Texas called ‘Christmas Light Source’. These are recycled and all the earnings are used to purchase books, toys, etc. for donation.

How to Properly Dispose of Christmas Lights?

When it comes to properly dispose of the old, broken and unwanted Christmas lights as an individual, you can do more things than just throwing it away in your dustbin. It depends on the condition of the lights, however.

  • If you are trying to dispose of them off to get new ones, then you can give them to charity. Just get all your collection or even from neighbors and give them to some nearby orphanage or shelter.
  • The right way to handle your holiday waste is not to take the easiest route, by the help of recycle bin, but to confront a recycling program, as we have mentioned above.
  • Yet, if you want to get rid of the waste and you are not sure of anything in around your area, then you can simply try to separate the glass or lights from the plastic wires, and throw them separately.
  • Often, the city or private waste collection dump trucks do throw recyclable materials in recycling yards, and it might end up there.

How to Dispose of Unwanted Christmas Lights?

What can you do if you do not want the Christmas lights anymore? The answer is very simple that you can give them away. Unless you are thinking of ways to reuse them in your own house, then you can take help of some ideas.

  • As these holidays waste is not going to be used again for Christmas, you can turn them into other decorations inside your house.
  • If these are small light bulbs, then you can convert them into night lamps and use them in your kid’s room or dark corners that can use some light.
  • You can DIY these string of lights and share them with your friend’s social group to celebrate events like parties and birthdays.
  • Can collect all unwanted stuff from office colleagues and keep it for small celebrations at the office, like farewell or something.
  • You can also turn them into decorative items such as this.

How to Dispose of Christmas Lights NYC?

If you are living in NYC, and you want to get rid of the holiday waste, the lights, ornaments stuff, and the Christmas tree, that is, everything you had used and you do not need them anymore, there are better ways than throwing them.

  • In NYC, you have an organization called ‘DonateNYC’. Where you can send away these things, but after some preparation.
  • Strip clean all your stuff, that is, separate lights, ornaments, from the trees and package them separately.
  • There are events hosted by NYC parks such as the MulchFest between the January 2nd to 3rd weeks.

TIPS

  • Disposing lights for recycling is the best option, but if that is not available at your city, better try to reuse them.

If they are damaged, broken and burnt, given them to scrap yard, electric shops personally as they will find a way to reuse as much as possible.

Where can I dispose of Christmas lights near me?

Goodwill: Goodwill accepts your working Christmas lights. Have too many (or want to replace the set you have?) Drop ’em off at a donation bin near you or find your local store. Your local municipal waste service: You’re not the only one in the neighborhood taking down the Christmas lights.

Does Home Depot take old Christmas lights?

Bring in your old, broken or used incandescent holiday light strings to be recycled at The Home Depot® and receive a discount on a single receipt in-store purchase of LED lights. Receive the discount for each string recycled.

Does Lowes take old Christmas lights?

Lowe’s will take those old Christmas lights off your hands, recycling the components. The home improvement store has a recycling station set up near the store entrance as a drop off site. Workers say the service has proven popular with local residents.

Does Home Depot recycle Christmas lights 2019?

Yes, you can recycle them!

There are a couple of local “upcycling” options you can consider. In years past, True Value hardware stores, along with Home Depot and Lowe’s, have taken customers’ used Christmas lights for recycling, and have even sometimes offered coupons as a reward recycling.

Are old Christmas lights worth anything?

Most are priced at $10 to $15 each. Christmas lights were introduced in the 1920s but weren’t widespread decorations until the ’50s, as technology advanced. Snag sets for around $30 on eBay or at flea markets, but be cautious when connecting the vintage cords to outlets.

Are Christmas string lights recyclable?

Yes! In fact, Christmas lights contain common recyclable materials like metal, plastic, and sometimes glass. They have a coating of polyvinyl chloride covering copper wiring and fitted with sockets. Most Christmas tree lights are also made up of LEDs bulbs, which are also recyclable.

How do you dispose of LED strip lights?

They cannot be thrown away with the regular garbage. They must be taken to a hazardous waste facility.

What do I do with my old Christmas tree?

How to recycle your Christmas Tree
  1. REMOVE all ornaments, decorations, tinsels and stand from the tree.
  2. CUT the tree into pieces, if needed, to fit into green bin.
  3. PLACE the tree pieces inside the green bin and put out for regular pick-up on collection day.

Can Christmas cards be recycled?

Christmas cards are one of the most widely recycled items around the festive season, and rightly so. They’re largely made from paper and can be dumped en masse in your paper recycling bin without worrying. That is, unless they have foil or glitter on them.

What do you do with used Christmas cards?

What To Do With Old Christmas Cards
  1. Go to a Recycling Center. If you’re looking to get rid of a bulk pile of cards, go green.
  2. Upcycle Them Into a Christmas Card Craft. If you want to transform your old greeting cards into a forever keepsake or fun holiday decorations, we have you covered.
  3. Donate Old Greeting Cards.

How do you dispose of old Christmas cards?

Most cards are paper based and can be recycled, along with their envelopes, either in your household recycling collection, at local recycling points such as household waste recycling centres or at collection banks in supermarket car parks and the like.

How do you recycle Christmas cards in 2020?

Most Christmas cards are paper based so they can be recycled quite easily, along with the envelopes. You can recycle them in your own household recycling collection or take them to local recycling points, such as at household waste recycling centres or collection banks in supermarket car parks.

Are any shops recycling Christmas cards 2020?

At the moment no organisations or supermarkets have announced any nationwide Christmas Card recycling schemes. Please let us know if you have a scheme near you that collects cards in January 2020. For the moment, our advice is that you should recycle Christmas cards in your household recycling collection.

Is Sainsburys recycling Christmas cards 2020?

Sainsbury’s will recycle all collected Christmas cards and make a donation to FSC UK in the New Year.

What should I do with old Christmas cards and birthdays?

What to Do With Old Cards & Letters
  1. Scan & store them on your computer.
  2. Tuck them in your scrapbook or journal.
  3. Keep them so you can one day give them back to the writer.
  4. Repurpose them into tags & gift cards.
  5. Repurpose them into scrapbook & journal embellishments.
  6. Repurpose card tops into postcards.
  7. Donate card tops.

Is there a use for old greeting cards?

Schools often collect used greeting cards to use for craft projects and other purposes. For example, the front panels of used Christmas cards can be used for making bookmarks for the children. Check with schools in your local community to see if they have a similar donation opportunity.

Should you throw away old cards?

Old Greeting Cards

Unless the card had something particularly sentimental and meaningful written inside, throw it away. “Happy Birthday, Love Mom” does not count.

What should I do with used greeting cards?

5 Donate to a Charity: Before you toss any unwanted cards, consider donating them. St. Jude’s Ranch for Children will recycle used greeting cards and turn them into new holiday and greeting cards. You can also purchase their recycled cards to support their programs and services.