Don't Get Mad At Those Burnt Out Lights–Recycle!

Kane County's Division of Environmental Resources has some ideas for a truly "green" holiday season.

First, when you discover that strings and strings of lights you were ready to put on the house or on the tree are not working, you can deal with your frustration by tossing them away at one of the Recycle Holiday Lights locations:

• Kane County Monthly Electronics and Book Recycling Collection Event at 540 S. Randall Rd., St. Charles. Hours are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the second Saturday of each month.
• Batavia Public Works Department Self-Serve Electronics Drop-off at 200 N. Raddant Rd., Batavia. Hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.
• ReStore Electronics Recycling Drop-off at 800 N. State St., Elgin. Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 9 a.m to 4 p.m. Saturday.

These recycling locations will accept other electronic equipment as well, free of charge on an ongoing basis. 

Another tip for greening the holidays you might consider after you've thrown away those non-working lights is to consider buying more energy-efficient LED holiday lights that typically last up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs. They also use only one-tenth the amount of electricity. 

You can "repurpose" old decorations you don't want any more at a local thrift store. And, save and reuse your wrapping paper, ribbons, boxes, gift bags and even cards from year to year. 

For more information, visit countyofkane.org under R for Recycling, or call Recycling Coordinator Jennifer Jarland at 630-208-3841.