Residents who want to get rid of holiday light strands can recycle them with the help of the Westerville Electric Division throughout January.
Unwanted light strands can be dropped off at the Westerville Electric Division, 139 E. Broadway Ave., between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays in exchange for a new LED light bulb.
There’s a three LED bulb limit per household, but residents can dispose of as many light strands as they want, according to the city of Westerville.
This program offers residents an alternative to sending holiday lights to the landfill.
Rumpke, the city’s refuse and recycling contractor, asks customers to refrain from tossing holiday lights in recycling bins, as they can become entangled in equipment.
The environmentally friendly program helps the electric division by removing inefficient drains on the city’s power grid, according to the city.
Additionally, the strands are to be recycled at no cost to the city by a scrap metals-and-materials vendor, keeping them out of landfills.
For more information about the program, call Westerville Electric Division, 614-901-6700, or email electric@westerville.org.
In addition to holiday-lights recycling, here are six things to know to dispose of holiday trees.
- Live holiday trees are considered yard waste and are to be picked up during regularly scheduled yard-waste collections.
- Artificial holiday trees are considered trash and are to be picked up during regularly scheduled refuse collections.
- Trees must be free of all ornamentation and lighting, and artificial trees should be completely disassembled.
- Remove the tree stand and plastic tree bag, if one was used.
- Cut live tree trunks and limbs into 4-foot sections and use string or twine to bundle.
- Do not place trees in a recycling container.