‘Tis the season for holiday light recycling

By YES! Coordinator Kory Klebe

‘Tis the season….or maybe it should be ’twas the season.

Now that the holiday season is behind us most people have taken their holiday decorations down and packed them away for the year. Before, during, and after the holiday season several YES! teams where actively doing some re-gifting. Well, it was actually recycling (which is like re-gifting to the planet)…..of old holiday lights.

The YES! teams from New London-Spicer (NLS) and Atwater-Cosmos Grove City (ACGC) were two West-Central teams that took on this project. NLS and ACGC’s light piles weighed nearly 100 pounds each. In addition the YES! team from Springfield has collected well over 500 pounds and the Sleepy Eye team collected 900 pounds. Great job keeping those out of the landfill!

For the West Central teams their lights will be dropped off at West Central Industries of Willmar. This company provides employment training for hard working people who have disabilities and connects them with businesses in West Central Minnesota who need workers. The copper wire is taken out of the light strings to be sold and all other recyclable parts are recycled.

This is just one of the many recycling projects that YES! teams have taken on. Other YES! teams are collecting shoes, jeans, ink cartridges, and oil to keep these reusable items out of the landfill.