KENT COUNTY, Mich — Christmas has come and gone, and now you are noticing your twinkling lights are not twinkling. But this year, think twice before throwing them in the trash and, instead take those busted lights to the Kent County Recycling and Education Center.
“So the trash can goes to one place, and the recycling bin goes to another, and then this is that spot,” said Kent County Waste Reduction Educator Micah Herrboldt.
Think of the center as kind of like a reverse Santa’s Workshop right now. Because, instead of building toys, they are breaking things down.
Which I guess would make Micah Herrboldt a second-hand Saint Nick.
“When people have questions about what can or cannot be recycled, oftentimes I'm the person that they'll be speaking to,” said Micah.
Micah told me that about 180 tons of recycled materials move through the recycling facility every day, and that’s material staying out of our landfills. Which is a good thing, especially when we’re talking about those items that use to power up.
RECYCLING RESOURCES:
“Any sort of electronic device, whether that is a cord or string lights, or even anything like an old iPad or tablet computer, anything with a screen, a battery, a cord, those all have some sort of value in them." Said Micah. "So throwing them in the trash means that that value is just lost, and especially things like string lights, where they have copper wiring in them that's easily recycled if it's taken to the right spot.”
Those “right spots” are important to know because if recycled in the wrong spot, these lights can be a real headache.
Kent County String Light Recycling Locations
- North Kent Recycling and Waste Center
- South Kent Recycling & Waste Center
- SafeChem drop-off in Grand Rapids
“If something is long and stringy, it's just going to get wrapped around that and then just gunk up the whole system,” said Micah.
And if you are recycling, you don’t even need to be a Kent County resident to use their facilities.
WASTE DISPOSAL COST
- Car Load - trunk only - $25 min. charge per load
- Pick-Up, Van, SUV load - $35 min. charge per load
- Trailer load (nothing in vehicle) - $35 min charge per load
- Car and trailer load - $45 min. charge per load
- Truck and trailer load - $55 min. charge per load
- More prices can be viewed here
“If you're dropping off waste and need to pay the fee for dropping off that waste, they're still going to let you use the facility," added Micah. "If you're dropping off recycling, which is generally going to be a free service, they're still going to let you use it.”
OTHER POST-HOLIDAY RECYCLING GUIDELINES
- Batteries: Lithium-ion, rechargeable, and button batteries should be taken to a SafeCem drop-off location because of fire risk.
- Trees, wreaths, and garland: Artificial decorations are not recyclable and should be reused or donated. Live trees are compostable.
- Ugly holiday sweaters: often made with too many fabrics or too many different materials to be recycled. Donate or re-gift if you can.
- Frying Oil: Can be dropped off at one of the DPW SafeChem locations.
- Plastic foam, film packaging, and Styrofoam: Can only be recycled at special drop-off locations.
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