Brits urged to recycle Christmas lights
Wednesday, January 2, 2013 - 16:21:01
Now that the turkey has finally been snaffled up and the decorations are starting to look a little bit sad, many people will be thinking about deconstructing the Christmas dioramas that they have erected at home and freshening things up, to really get 2013 started.
However, figures suggest that about 500 tonnes of the lights that we rig around our Christmas trees will be sent to landfill by those who no longer need them.
This may be a tactical move, taken as a result of a set of lights no longer working, but the affordable nature of these illuminations also means that some are simply inclined to bin them and buy a fresh set each year, rather than pack them away properly.
A representative of Warwickshire County Council has spoken out about this wasteful practice and suggested an alternative route, to help lessen the impact of post-Christmas waste.
Alan Cockburn pointed out that any unwanted electrical item found at home, irrespective of its origin or intended use, can be recycled, if you take it to a local waste centre.
This goes for everything from Christmas lights to old hair dryers and, of course, unwanted mobile phones.
Recycling centres are widely available across the UK, so all of that electronic detritus that piles up after the Christmas period can be properly disposed of, rather than needlessly dumped at a landfill site.
Of course, the best thing you can do is to reuse old Christmas lights, but if they are beyond repair it is well worth recycling them, since they still contain plenty of valuable materials that can be harvested and put back into circulation.
When it comes to mobile phones, it is best to sell your old handset online to get a bit of cash back for your trouble.
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