Recycling Holiday Lights: How Columbus Is Keeping It Green This Season

As the holiday season brightens our homes, it also brings a lesser-known challenge to our environment: holiday and string lights disposal. These festive tangles are more than just an annoyance—they can shut down recycling facilities by entangling in the equipment. That’s why it’s crucial we never place these items in our recycling carts or at recycling drop-off locations.

But there’s a silver lining! Specialized recycling programs are equipped to handle these holiday hazards. By recovering valuable metals like copper and iron from old electronics, and ensuring toxic elements such as lead and cadmium are safely disposed of, these programs (thanks to SWACO) help us reduce the need to mine new materials and decrease the amount of waste heading to landfills.

Almost any item that has a battery or a plug counts as electronic waste (E-waste), and fortunately, our community is proactive about E-waste recycling. During the holiday season, several locations around Columbus offer special programs for recycling your holiday lights, ensuring they don’t end up in a landfill.

Seasonal Holiday Lights Recycling Programs

Here’s where you can bring your old holiday lights:

• SWACO Recycling Convenience Center, 2566 Jackson Pike in Columbus
• Bexley, 2100 Clifton Ave.
• Grove City Hall, 4035 Broadway plus other various locations
• New Albany Village Hall, 99 W. Main St., plus other various locations
• Plain Township Fire Department, 9500 Johnstown Rd.
• Upper Arlington Municipal Services Ctr., 3600 Tremont Rd.
• Westerville Electric Division, 139 E. Broadway Ave.

Year-Round Electronic Drop-Off Locations

Don’t let your electronics gather dust! Drop them off at:

• SWACO Recycling Convenience Center, 2566 Jackson Pike in Columbus 
• Columbus Micro Systems, 5087 Westerville Rd. in Columbus 
• 1550 Georgesville Rd. in Columbus 
• 2100 Alum Creek Dr. in Columbus 
• Dublin Services Center, 6555 Shier-Rings Rd. 
• Jackson Twp. Admin Building, 3756 Hoover Rd. 
• Upper Arlington Public Service Ctr., 4100 Roberts Rd. 
• Westerville Public Service Dept., 350 Park Meadow Rd. 
• Worthington Service & Engineering Dept., 380 Highland Ave.

As we celebrate the holidays, let’s also celebrate our efforts to protect the planet. By recycling your E-waste and old holiday lights, not only are you keeping them out of the landfill, but you’re also participating in a community effort to be more environmentally responsible. Check out the links to these facilities to learn more about what types of E-waste they accept and their hours of operation, and let’s make this season a little greener!