Argggghhh! Once again in early December, I eagerly unpacked my neatly-wound, relatively new Christmas lights- you know, the ones that are supposed to stay lit even if one of the bulbs in the circuit goes out- and sure enough, more than half the stands wouldn’t light. I thought I had avoided that problem by replacing my older strands last year…. and after nearly two hours of searching through bulb by bulb, replacing burnt-out bulbs, and still almost no luck getting them to light, I was ready to call it quits. I threw the useless strands back into my giant cardboard box, and sentenced them to another year in our basement, since there was no way I could justify throwing them out, couldn’t fathom giving them to the thrift store (who wants broken Christmas lights??), and wasn’t sure what else to do with them. What an eco-nightmare!

So what can be done with all these strands? I’ve finally found a solution! Once you have tried diligently to replace bulbs and nearly strangled yourself in holiday desperation, there is something “green” you can do with the Christmas lights that just won’t seem to twinkle…recycle them!

A company called Holiday LEDs has set up a Christmas light recycling program. Simply package all the old Christmas light strands you have that no longer work, or only partially work, into a box, and ship to the address listed below. You will even get a 15% off coupon good toward a future purchase of LED lights- a much greener alternative for holiday decorating, anyway. Hey, maybe I’ll use my coupon and get some energy-efficient LED lights for next year….

Want to learn more about the program? Visit the Holiday LED Recycling Page.

Details:
Where should I send my lights for recycling?

HolidayLEDs.com
Attn: Recycling Program
2500 W. Argyle St.
Jackson, MI 49202

What should information should I include?

The name and email address (clearly printed) of the participant. All coupons will be emailed so we must have an email address.

How should I package the lights?

Please DO NOT:

1. Include any packing material or anything other than the lights themselves

2. Send the lights in outer packaging such as retail boxes

3. Include any apparatus used to wind up or store the lights

4. Use any size box that is larger than what is needed to accommodate the lights.

5. Put your light sets in plastic bags or any other interior packaging.

Please DO:

1. Use cardboard boxes or other packaging that can easily be recycled.

2. Coordinate with your friends, neighbors, co-works, social groups, church groups, or other organizations when possible to collect lights and send in one bulk shipment (this reduces shipping costs for everyone and reduces environmental impact of shipping.)

3. Compact your light sets into the smallest space possible.