Holiday Lights Recycling Locations Open In McHenry County

Press release from the McHenry County Health Department:

Edward Johnson, Thomas Edison's assistant, was the first person to come up with the idea of electric lights for Christmas trees in 1882, according to the University of Illinois Extension. His idea quickly caught on, and Christmas tree lights began being mass-produced to illuminate the holiday cheer in 1890.

Since then, “Christmas Lights” have turned into “every holiday” lights, or are used to decorate spaces for the sake of ambiance. Holiday lights can be pink and red strands in celebration of Valentine’s Day or green for St. Patrick’s Day, and of course red, white and blue for patriotic holidays.

Holiday lights CAN NOT go into curbside recycling bins. The light strands create a tangling hazard at the recycling centers, causing machine breakdowns and potential worker safety hazards.

So, what is an environmentally friendly way to recycle your holidays light once you’re done with them or their bulbs have burned out?

Fortunately, there are several locations in McHenry County that will accept holiday lights to be recycled throughout the year. Holiday light recycling can be found at the following locations:

Village of Algonquin (847-658-2700) — Accepting holiday lights until Jan. 18 at Ganek Municipal Center, 2200 Harnish Drive. Open Monday - Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. but closed for the holidays.

Village of Cary (847-639-0003) — Accepting holiday lights for recycling through January during normal business hours and has bins at the following locations:

• Village Hall, 655 Village Hall Drive, Cary

City of Crystal Lake (815-459-2020) — Accepting holiday lights during normal business hours through the end of the year at Crystal Lake City Hall, 100 W. Woodstock St. Please place unusable holiday lights in the green Prairieland Disposal bin marked “Christmas Tree Lights Recycling” found next to the Finance/ Administration Department counter in the main lobby of City Hall.

Village of Lakewood (815-459-3025) — Accepting holiday lights until Feb. 28 at the Village of Lakewood Village Hall, 2500 Lake Ave. The light recycling receptacle is near the front door.

Village of Port Barrington — Accepting holiday lights until Jan. 31 at the Village of Port Barrington Village Hall, 69 S. Circle Ave. Collection receptacle located outside of the Village Hall.

Village of Richmond (815-678-4040) — Accepts holiday lights to be recycled year-round at the Richmond Village Hall, 5600 Hunter Drive. Open Monday - Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The receptacle is located in the front vestibule.

Village of Spring Grove (815-675-2121) — Accepts holiday lights to be recycled year-round at the Village of Spring Grove Municipal Centre, 7401 Meyer Road. Open Monday - Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

City of Woodstock (815-338-4300) — Accepting holiday lights during normal business hours until Feb. 12 at the following locations:

• City Hall – 121 West Calhoun St.

Elgin Recycling (847-741-4100) — Accepts holiday lights year-round at 5114 Terra Cotta Ave. in Crystal Lake. Open Monday - Friday from 8 a.m to 5 p.m and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Prairieland Disposal and Recycling (847-381-9300) — Accepts holiday lights year-round at 21988 N. Pepper Road in Lake Barrington. Open Monday - Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon.

Ziegler’s Ace Hardware Stores– Accepting holiday lights for recycling until mid-January at their locations in Cary, 642 Northwest Highway; Crystal Lake, 435 S Main St.; Huntley, 10420 IL-47 and Lake in the Hills, 481 N. Randall Road

Holiday lights recycling locations can also be found on the Solid Waste Program page.

This press release was produced by the McHenry County Health Department. The views expressed here are the author’s own.