Don’t Throw Away Broken Holiday Lights — Recycle Them

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): A nonprofit is asking people to donate their broken, unfixable string lights instead of tossing them into the trash this holiday season.  Reduce Waste Chicago hosts events across Chicago to collect items that can be reused, repurposed or are difficult to recycle. This is the group’s third year focusing on non-working holiday string lights.

“The first year we collected 1,300 pounds of string lights from six locations on the North Side. Last year, we expanded to 12 drop-off locations and collected 1,500 pounds of string lights,” said Sherry Skalko, the group’s founder.  Reduce Waste has more than 20 locations across the city for broken light drop-offs, she said.

“We’ve got drop-off bins at a combination of alderman ward offices, businesses and other organizations,” Skalko said. “We collaborate with our volunteers, who are in charge of different locations to swap out their bins as they get full until Jan 31.”

Courtesy: www.wasteadvantage.com