Holiday Lights Recycling Collection
December 6, 2025 @ 9:00 am – January 31, 2026 @ 5:00 pm
What do you do with non-working strings of holiday lights (after you’ve tried replacing broken bulbs and fuses)? Recycle them with us!
Last year, we collected 4,618 pounds of lights from 40 locations across 18 wards. That brought our four-year total to 10,574 pounds of lights diverted from the landfill.
This year, helped by a $5,000 grant from Union Pacific’s Community Ties Giving Program, we’re expanding to more wards across the city, making it easier for more Chicagoans to recycle broken string lights responsibly.
This year, the collection will run from Saturday, December 6 – Saturday, January 31. Check out our Holiday Lights Collection page for a map and list of locations.