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Where to Recycle Christmas Decorations
The Houston Zoo promotes Christmas light recycling as a way to save landfill space, meaning more space for wildlife. Pictured is their recycling bin from 2018. This year, the collection bin will be open until Jan. 10. The bin is located outside the main entrance to the Zoo. (Photo courtesy of Houston Zoo)
As an old proverb states, “All good things must come to an end.”
With the presents unwrapped and the Christmas cookies polished off, the holiday season is winding down. If you have Christmas lights to remove and trees to dispose of, consider recycling them at one of the convenient locations listed below.
Lights
C&D Scrap Metal Recyclers
6775 Bingle Road
Hours: Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday, 8 a.m.-12 p.m., Closed Sunday
Located in north Houston, this facility offers five cents per pound for Christmas lights.
Houston Zoo
6200 Hermann Park Drive
The Houston Zoo placed a holiday lights recycling bin outside the main entrance to the Zoo back in November. The collection bin will be open until Jan. 10, and only string lights are accepted for recycle. Note: Since the Zoo started this program in 2016, they’ve helped divert 20,019 lbs. of holiday string lights from landfills!
South Post Oak Recycling Center
14600 S. Post Oak Rd.
Hours: Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Closed Sunday
This Houston-based metal recycler accepts Christmas lights year-round and offers five cents per pound of lights.
Christmas Light Source
4314 Elmwood Drive
Benbrook, TX 76116
This company offers a year-round mail-in program: box up your old, broken Christmas lights and send them to the company in the cheapest and slowest way possible. Christmas Light Source will have the lights recycled and will use the proceeds to purchase books and toys to donate to the Toys for Tots Foundation.
Christmas Trees
City of Bellaire
Residents can drop off trees at the designated collection area at the southeast corner of Baldwin Avenue and Edith Street between Dec. 28, 2020 and Jan. 15, 2021. Place your tree in the parking lot near the tree recycling sign. Remove all ornaments, tree stands and lights. Flocked trees will not be recycled.
City of Bunker Hill Village
Bunker Hill Village residents can place their Christmas trees curbside on any recycling service day by 7 a.m. There will also be a special pickup for tree recycling on Jan. 7, 2020.
City of West University
The city will be collecting Christmas trees for recycling between Dec. 28, 2020 and Jan. 15, 2021. Place your tree, free of any foreign material or objects, curbside on your regular trash day, and the trees will be taken to a local composter and recycled as mulch.
Editor's note: This article was originally published in 2019, but it had been updated for the holiday season of 2020.
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