Who hasn’t endured the frustration that Clark Griswold experienced when his holiday lights display in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” wouldn’t turn on?

It may not be that dramatic for most of us, and more likely, it’s only the occasional string of Christmas lights that don’t work either before, during or after the holiday display season.

And what has happened to that string of Christmas lights for the past several decades? Into the garbage and eventually into our landfills.

In the past two years, the movement to provide recycling for used Christmas lights has picked up a lot of momentum. It appears it will become even more common in years to come, especially as consumers discard old incandescent lights for energy-saving LED strings.

Tons of worn-out lights have cluttered landfills, and environmentalists point out that the plastic wiring common with holiday lights could take thousands of years to decompose. Animal lovers say a string of lights in a landfill can choke or entangle a small animal as easily as the plastic rings used on six-packs of soda.

As we now enter the age of recycling the lights that at one time made the holidays bright in large or small displays at our homes, businesses or on our community streets and parks, there is finally an alternative to just tossing them out.

Consider that a company such as Elgin Recycling Inc., servicing about 24 communities in northern Illinois with a Christmas lights recycling program, collected 9,949 pounds of used lights in its first year with only 12 communities involved, it is not hard to imagine what a nationwide effort could accomplish.

Many recycling firms or scrap collecting companies across the country are making recycling bins available at various community locations for used Christmas lights. Home Depot stores collect lights for a couple of weeks during the holiday seasons, and various community organizations or colleges are getting involved in providing the service.

What happens to your old lights once you drop them in a recycling container for pickup?

Generally, the lights will be processed and any material that cannot be recycled (i.e. loose bulbs) is discarded. When hundreds of light sets have been collected, a recycling company will take them to a recycling facility for shredding. Afterward, the pieces are processed and sorted into the various components that make up the lights (pvc, glass, copper).

In the recycling market, the chances of finding a buyer and future uses for the recycle materials are enhanced when something is being recycled in volume.

The sheer volume of holiday lights throughout the world provides hope that our landfills will be far less cluttered and a use for the plastics and glass will be more practical because of the quantities available.