Christmas tree lights......give away or recycle?

[CathyA]

I have a box full of various strands of christmas tree lights. Dilemma......do I give them to Goodwill in hopes that someone will use them and when they don't work anymore, recycle them?
Or do I just recycle them now? As I mentioned in another thread, I'm not in a big recycling area. (Well, there's lots of places to recycle, but I would say most people don't recycle).

[TxZen]

Give them to the local schools perhaps, for plays and what not?

[ToomuchStuff]

Do they work?
Do you have a Craigslist for your area?

I am not sure how Goodwill isn't recycling, but other options would include things as battered women's shelters, homeless shelters, etc. where lights would be low on the list yet, bring some happiness.

[iris lilies]

I have a box full of various strands of christmas tree lights. Dilemma......do I give them to Goodwill in hopes that someone will use them and when they don't work anymore, recycle them?
Or do I just recycle them now? As I mentioned in another thread, I'm not in a big recycling area. (Well, there's lots of places to recycle, but I would say most people don't recycle).

Please don't burden Goodwill with lights that don't work. Work through each strand as your Zen work for the day by untangling the strand, plugging it in, and if 9/10 of the lights work, send them to Goodwill. Otherwise, pitch them.

[CathyA]

Absolutely they work. (I thought that was obvious in my question, but I should have stated it better). I wouldn't dump trash like that on anyone. If they didn't work, I'd recycle them myself.
What I'm trying to say is that I'd rather recycle them myself (even while they are still working), than donate them somewhere, where they'll end up in a landfill........but that is impossible to know.

[SteveinMN]

Our local Goodwill will no longer accept items "out of season" (golf clubs in February, Christmas decorations in July). So that's probably Question 1. If they won't take them and you don't want to put them on craigslist, then I would try for reuse. For free, almost anything will disappear. In our neighborhood, leaving the lights in a plastic bag (to protect against moisture) and putting up a sign that said "Free working Christmas lights" would get them gone in less than 24 hours.

IIRC Ace Hardware stores recycled lights last year; likely other places do. But they may not take them in October, either. Maybe there's some good ideas there for you.

[mschrisgo2]

For the last several years our local electric company has collected lights, working or not, and exchanges them with you for low watt lights, OR if you don't want them at all, they will credit your exchange to a needy family who would really like to have lights. Seems like a win-win all the way around.

[thinkgreen]

I know some folks have the old lights and can't buy the bulbs anymore. So they are always looking for old strings with working lights.

In this area people use them to protect tender trees from freezing if the weather gets bad. The old lights emit enough heat to protect them.

[rodeosweetheart]

Cathy, my mom took all the bulbs out of hers and keeps them in a box for nightlights, as they tend to be same size.