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Here’s where you can recycle your burned out Christmas lights

If you’re unpacking your Christmas décor and come across strings of lights that are burnt out or broken, you don’t have to throw them in the garbage.
Christmas lights
Product Care Recycling has a program in place that allows Christmas lights of all types to be recycled in New Westminster,

If you’re unpacking your Christmas décor and come across strings of lights that are burnt out or broken, you don’t have to throw them in the garbage.

Product Care Recycling is encouraging British Columbians to recycle holiday string lights at more than 150 free drop-off locations across the province.

"Recycling holiday lights gives the various parts a new useful life, rather than adding to landfill waste,” said Wayne Chisholm, Product Care’s logistics and services manager. “Once holiday lights are dropped off at a recycling location, they’re transported to authorized recyclers for processing – right here in Canada – where they’re separated into component parts (e.g. metal, glass, plastic) so the materials can be repurposed into new products.”

According to Product Care Recycling, 57% of British Columbians put up holiday lights, with nearly half putting up three or more strands. All kinds of string lights – from retro-style incandescent strings to LED garlands that twinkle and blink – can be recycled in B.C.

String lights are one of many types of lighting fixtures accepted by Product Care Recycling, which also accepts fixtures such as flashlights, desk lamps, garden lights, and more. It also accepts burnt out incandescent bulbs, fluorescent tubes, halogen bulbs, compact fluorescent lights, CFLs, and LEDs.

For more information, go to productcare.org for a full list of accepted products and drop-off locations.