Household recycling
How to Recycle Holiday Lights
Incandescent and LED holiday light strings. Copper-bearing, genuinely recyclable by mail, and a well-known hazard to sorting machinery if binned.
Check local acceptanceLast reviewed July 28, 2026
Quick answer
There is a real mail-in route: HolidayLEDs recycles string lights year-round and sends back a 10 percent discount code, though you pay the postage. Never put light strings in a curbside bin, where they wrap around sorting equipment. Note the program narrowed recently and now takes string lights only, not rope lights, greenery, or loose bulbs.
- Recycling route
- Check locally
How to Prepare
- 1Test strings before discarding them, since a single dead bulb or fuse is often the only fault
- 2Bundle strands so they cannot unspool in transit
- 3Mail string lights to a recycler such as HolidayLEDs, which operates year-round
- 4