‘Tis the season for metal recycling! With all of the holiday celebrations, decorations, and gift-giving, holiday waste can quickly pile up. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans generate 25% more waste during the holidays compared to the rest of the year.
However, many items we use during the holidays, from aluminum trays to burned-out Christmas lights, end up in the trash, even though they contain recyclable metals. The holidays are an excellent time to collect items to take to your local metal recycling center and earn a little extra cash for those tangled Christmas lights, burned-out Christmas trees, and more.
By being more mindful and recycling Christmas lights and other holiday waste, you can reduce your environmental impact and start the new year with a green footprint. Here’s a list of common holiday items that can be recycled or repurposed.
Holiday Items That Contain Recyclable Metal:
Many holiday items contain valuable metals that can be recycled rather than thrown away:
- Aluminum Cooking Pans, Pie Plates, and Trays: Aluminum trays are holiday must-haves for cooking and serving, but once they’re empty, don’t just toss them out. Aluminum is 100% recyclable and can be easily processed and reused.
- Christmas Lights: Did you know you could recycle Christmas lights? Old or broken holiday lights may not make it to next year, but the copper wiring inside is recyclable and valuable. Recycling centers accept lights for the metal within rather than adding them to landfill waste.
- Artificial Christmas Trees with Built-In Lights: These trees often have metal frames and wiring in their lighting systems, which means even if the lights burn out, the frame can still be salvaged for recycling.
- Light Up Wreaths and Holiday Decorations: Similar to Christmas lights, decorations with built-in lights contain wiring that can be recycled once the lights no longer work.
- Beverage Cans: With holiday parties come trash bags full of aluminum cans from soda and other beverages. These are among the easiest items to recycle.
- Wired Ribbons: Some decorative wrappings and wired ribbons contain metal components, making them recyclable once separated from non-metal parts.
Ways To Repurpose Holiday Items
Before dropping off these items for recycling, you might find a new purpose for them in your home. Repurposing extends the lifespan of items and brings a creative touch to holiday decoration leftovers:
- Aluminum Cooking Pans and Trays: After cleaning them thoroughly, they can be used as organizers for ornaments, small decorations, or hardware.
- Christmas Lights: String holiday lights into a mason jar or holiday vase to create a unique centerpiece or backyard lighting.
- Artificial Trees and Wreaths: Old trees and wreaths can be disassembled to use the branches or frames for other decorations like mini wreaths or craft projects.
- Beverage Cans: With a little creativity, you can carefully cut and shape cans into unique ornaments, candle holders, or other decorative pieces.
- Wired Ribbons: Use these in craft projects or as plant supports in your garden.
How to Identify Recyclable Metal in Holiday Items
Not sure if an item is recyclable? Here are some metal identification tips to help:
- Look for Metal Components:
- Check for Metal Components: Metal is usually heavier than other materials. A quick test is to see if a magnet sticks to the item. If it does, it likely contains a ferrous (iron-based) metal like steel, often found in Christmas tree stands or artificial tree frames.
- Look for Copper Wiring: Many light-up decorations, such as Christmas lights, wreaths, and certain tree ornaments, contain copper wiring. Copper is a valuable recyclable metal, typically found as thin wires inside light strings or as wiring in electronics. If you see a colored, insulated wire (often black, green, or red), it likely has copper inside.
- Check Product Labels: Some products include information about metal content or recyclability on the packaging and clearly state, “steel,” “aluminum,” or “contains copper.” Many decorations and lights also include recycling symbols that hint at recyclable metal components.
- Dismantle Larger Decorations: For more complex items like artificial trees, try disassembling them to see what they’re made of. Metal frames, screws, and wiring are often hidden beneath other materials. Separating these components will help make it easier to identify recyclable metals.
Tip: Separate mixed materials, like plastic or fabric, to help recycling centers process the metal efficiently.
Where to Recycle Holiday Metal Waste
If you’re looking to recycle holiday metal waste in Denver, we offer scrap metal drop-off services that make the process easy and convenient. We accept a wide range of metal items and offer top prices for your scrap metal.
By bringing your scrap metal to use, you’re contributing to an eco-friendly cycle and supporting responsible waste management in your community. We’re here to help make your holiday cleanup easier and greener!
Benefits of Recycling Metal Over the Holidays
Recycling metal over the holidays goes beyond reducing waste, it conserves energy, reduces the demand for new raw materials, and helps lower greenhouse gas emissions. For instance, according to the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries (ISRI), recycling aluminum conserves up to 95% of the energy needed to make new aluminum, and recycling one ton of aluminum saves as much energy as the average American home uses in a year. This small but impactful action can make a meaningful difference, especially during a high-consumption season like the holidays.
This holiday season, make recycling and repurposing part of your traditions. When it’s time to clean up and put away the decorations, think twice before tossing out metal-based items. Challenge family members to come up with creative ways to repurpose decorations and set up a recycling bin at home for holiday metal waste.
After accumulating a collection of holiday scrap metal, it’s time to find a reliable scrap metal buyer with a convenient drop-off service, like Iron & Metals! Our staff will handle the processing and ensure a hassle-free experience.