Christmas lights don't last forever. Whether your string lights have a few broken bulbs or quit working altogether, there are plenty of ways to recycle old lights — the environment will thank you. Not only do discarded Christmas lights take up space in landfills, throwing away light strings that contain Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs, or CFLs, can release mercury into the environment if the bulbs break.
Luckily, you can keep the environment in mind by trying one of these easy ways to recycle Christmas lights. Recycled Christmas lights can be crushed up and repurposed into new materials when delivered to the proper facility. Not to mention, if your string lights still work — but you're ready for an upgrade — we've included places to drop-off functioning Christmas lights to give them chance at a new life. Plus, keep scrolling for create ways to repurpose Christmas lights (think: festive Christmas decor).
How to Recycle Christmas Lights
Don't worry: it's surprisingly easy to ensure old or broken bulbs end up in the right place. Whether you prefer to donate your lights locally or send them in the mail, we've rounded up the best ways to recycle holiday string lights this year.
Schedule a pickup with Ridwell
When you sign up, Ridwell will visit your neighborhood every two weeks to pick up hard-to-recycle items, like batteries, prescription bottles and electronics. Just put your items in the provided bags and leave it by your front door. Find out if Ridwell is serving your area here.
Stop by a thrift store
Your local thrift store, including Goodwill, should accept working Christmas lights. If you have an extra set or want to upgrade, drop any unwanted lights in a donation bin or find a local store.
Visit a participating grocery store
Bring run-down or non-functioning lights to a MOM's location if you're in New Jersey, New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia or Washington, D.C. The store has recycling centers specifically for hard-to-recycle products like batteries, cork, Brita filters and old Christmas lights. Donations are brought to Capitol Asset Recycling, where they're "used to create roofing and construction materials, piping, car batteries, other electronics, lead wheel weights, flatware, jewelry and more."
Recycle by mail
There's a number of recycling centers and retailers that will accept your broken Christmas lights — in some cases, in exchange for a discount on your next purchase. Package up your old lights and take a trip to your local post office, FedEx or UPS store.
- Holiday LEDs: Mail old lights to Holiday LEDs, which is offering 10% off your next purchase if you ship broken lights. They suggest boxing up lights without packing material in the smallest box you can find.
- Green Citizen: Those in the San Francisco Bay Area can bring Christmas lights to a Green Citizen drop-off center or arrange a pick up, but everyone else can send working or non-working lights by mail. The environmental conservation company will grind up your lights, so long as you fill out their mail-in recycling form and pay a fee of $1 per pound of Christmas lights. When all is said and done, they'll email you a Certificate of Destruction.
Contact your local recycling center
You're not the only one in the neighborhood taking down Christmas lights. Reach out to your local municipal waste service to see if it's accepting working or non-working Christmas lights. The recycling center can set up a specific day to collect donations or direct you to another local organization.
How to Reuse Christmas Lights
If you prefer not to part with your Christmas lights, there are a ton of creative ways to repurpose them — and, yes we are talking about Christmas crafts. Whether your lights work well, partially or not at all, here are a few simple ideas to turn old Christmas lights into fun crafts:
- If you have too many Christmas lights, turn one set into a lush garland by joining it with a faux foliage garland — it'll feel like entirely new decor.
- Fill a mason jar, lantern or glass vase with a set of working string lights to add a subtle glow to your interior. Hint: this is a great solution if a few bulbs have burnt out.
- Turn a set of vintage Christmas lights that no longer work into festive decor by upcycling the individual bulbs. Paint or cover the bulbs in glitter, then add them to a DIY wreath, place setting or wrapped present.
Alyssa Gautieri (she/her) is the associate lifestyle editor for Good Housekeeping, where she covers all things home and interior design. Prior to joining GH in 2022, she wrote for publications including ELLE Decor, Chairish, BobVila.com, Unique Homes Magazine and LODGING Magazine, in addition to crafting product copy for home brands like BrylaneHome and VIGO Industries.
