How can I recycle Houston holiday decorations?
Will your old holiday lights even come on when you plug them in? And can you stand putting them on your house as their color coating flecks off them more and more while you lug them around the yard? You know you need to get rid of those plastic tubs full of old Christmas lights in favor of energy efficient holiday outdoor lighting.
You don’t want to throw your old lights away with your household trash. With all the knocking around in the garbage truck, those bulbs will turn into loose shards of glass. Once your old holiday light strings get to the landfill, they’ll sit there forever having been made using non-biodegradable plastic. You’d think there has to be some way to recycle your Houston holiday decorations. In fact, there is!
Ditch your electricity wasting light strings
You can drop your old or broken string lights in a recycling bin the Houston Zoo. The bin is situated just outside the main entrance. By keeping these items out of landfills, you help preserve natural space for wildlife. The recycling bin will be open through January 13, 2019.
Before you load up your entire stock of out-of-style Christmas decor, note the zoo’s recycling bin is only for string lights. For other items like flood lights, extension cords, and other items check out the City of Houston Solid Waste Management recycling site.
Swapping out your incandescent bulb light strings for LED ones you will reduce your energy consumption drastically. LED lights use a small fraction of the electricity required to power incandescent bulbs. Big box retailers and home improvement centers are well stocked with LED light strings. In fact, it’s a challenge to find incandescent strings, so why bother hanging onto those energy sapping monsters from the 80’s and 90’s?
Recycle your Christmas tree
Once you’ve stripped your Christmas tree in early January, it no longer uses Texas electricity. However, you can still recycle it like most other holiday decor that has served its purpose. Each year shortly after Christmas Day, the City of Houston announces a list of more than two dozen locations where residents can drop off their Christmas trees for recycling. In addition, many home improvement centers also take trees for recycling, so call your favorite home improvement center to find out whether they will this year.
Lower your Houston electricity bills
Upgrading your holiday decorations to more energy efficient models is a great way to manage your electricity consumption in December. You can get year round savings by switching your Houston electricity plan. Explore the plans available here at Texas Electricity Ratings to see which one is the best for your home. If you haven’t shopped for electricity in a while, the current rates may surprise you!
