LCG Explains How to Properly Throw Away Christmas Lights in Lafayette, Louisiana

(Lafayette, Louisiana) - With Christmas day behind us, some families keep their decorations up until January 6, the Epiphany. If you are taking things down now and you know it's time to throw out some of your lights, there is actually a proper place for them, and it's not your trash can.

Usually, most of us will find there are strands of lights that aren't working well or maybe they are completely done. If you are ready to get rid of some of them, then just know there is a plan in place for Lafayette residents. Don't throw them in the trash!

It's easy to think that you should just toss old Christmas lights in the trash, but according to Bess Foret, Environmental Quality Manager with Lafayette Consolidated Government, there are components in the lights that shouldn't be put in everyday trash.

Foret says,

Light strands contain materials that cannot be disposed of in residential carts. Light and string components require a specific and different recycling facility.

All you need to do to make sure your broken strands of light will be disposed of properly is to drop them off in the big blue dumpster that has been set up at the Robicheaux Recreation Center at 1919 Eraste Landry Road.

You can drop off the lights from now through the first week of January 2024. Foret says one of the reasons to drop off your old lights here is that they will disposed of properly and won't end up in a landfill where it would take an extremely long time to decompose.