Walford firm hopes you will recycle those old Christmas lights

If only the general public was as interested as the media in recycling Christmas lights Dave Long might be a lot busier.

“Let's see, you must be about the sixth or seventh reporter to call me,” the president of Midwest Electronic Recovery in Walford says in response to questions about the nine-year-old firm's Christmas light recycling program. So far this season, has collected about 50 pounds of lights – roughly enough to fill a bushel basket.

“It's just human nature to toss a strand of lights into the garbage if it doesn't work, Long says. “Most people aren't going to make a special trip to recycle their lights.”

Besides, Long says, “the cost of gas and the CO2 emissions from making a special trip to the recycler probably outweigh the value of recycling two or three strands of lights.”

Even getting paid for the lights doesn't seem to be much of an incentive – yet, says Jim Brown, president of Marion Iron.

“Look how long it's taken to get people to recycle – 25 years, maybe,” Brown says. “Right now, people look at lights as junk, so they throw them away.”

Even though many people know they can recycle computers, TVs, cathode ray tubes and printers/fax/copiers, they don't think of Christmas lights as recyclable electronics, says Stacie Johnson, education coordinator for Cedar Rapids/Linn County Solid Waste Agency.

As awareness grows that Christmas lights can be recycled, it will become more common, she predicts.

Placing Christmas light collection boxes in grocery stores has helped increase awareness in Iowa City and Coralville, according to Jennifer Jordan, recycling coordinator for Iowa City Landfill and Recycling.

“We're getting more than I expected,” she says. “We placed boxes in the Hy-Vees and other high-profile places so people see them and think about it.”

Brown estimates that since November, Marion Iron has shipped between 300 and 400 pounds of Christmas lights to secondary recyclers that separate the copper from the plastic and glass.

Marion Iron pays 90 cents a pound for the lights. Brown estimates it takes 10 to 15 feet of lights to make a pound.

For recyclers, the copper wire in the lights is the attraction because it's cheaper than new copper, Brown says. Glass bulbs can be crushed and used in tiles, asphalt and fiberglass insulation. Plastic bulbs and the sheathing are added to recycled plastics.