Drop Off Old Christmas Lights for Recycling at Great Parks of Hamilton County or Across Northern Kentucky

As people start decking their halls and home exteriors with holiday lights, there's bound to be a few strands that are dead, broken or just too tangled to bother with.

Instead of throwing them away, take them to recycling locations at Great Parks of Hamilton County and across Northern Kentucky.

Great Parks has partnered with Cohen Recycling and will take both LED and traditional lights until Feb. 1. Last year, they say they recycled more than 15,700 pounds of lights.

Recycling bins are available the following locations:

• Farbach-Werner Nature Preserve's Ellenwood Nature Barn, 3455 Poole Road, Colerain
• Glenwood Gardens' gatehouse, 10397 Springfield Pike, Woodlawn
• Miami Whitewater Forest's visitor center, 9001 Mount Hope Road, Harrison
• Winton Woods' Winton Centre, 10245 Winton Road, Mt. Healthy
• Woodland Mounds' Seasongood Nature Center, 8250 Old Kellogg Road, Withamsville
• Sharon Woods' Sharon Centre, 11450 Lebanon Road, Sharonville

At the Sharon Woods location, they'll have a bin at the entrance to Holiday in Lights where you can drop unwanted strands.

The City of Covington has also launched its own recycling initiative, with help from Cohen Recycling, Keep Covington Beautiful and Kenton County Public Works.

“Last year’s holiday lights collection event was so successful — with nearly 600 pounds of lights diverted from the landfill – that we’ve expanded collection points to three in Covington and partnered with Kenton County Public Works for a total of six drop-off locations,” said Stephanie Bacher, Covington’s Solid Waste & Recycling supervisor, in a release.

Covington also called on reps in Kenton, Boone and Campbell counties to see if they wanted to launch their own holiday recycling program — and compete to see who can save the most lights from area landfills.

They did.

So through Feb. 1, you can drop off loose LED or regular light strands at the following locations in Covington and Kenton County:

• The lobby at City Hall, 20 W. Pike St.
• Covington Fire Department Station 5, 1255 Hands Pike
• The Center for Great Neighborhoods, 321 M.L. King Jr. Bvld./W. 12th St.
• Kenton County Administration Building, 1840 Simon Kenton Way
• Independence Courthouse, 5272 Madison Pike, Independence
• Kenton County Public Works, 420 Independence Station Road, Independence

 In Boone County:

• Boone County Public Works, 5645 Idlewild Road, Burlington
• Boone County Conservation District, 6028 Camp Ernst Road, Burlington
• Boone County Public Library’s Main Library, 1786 Burlington Pike, Burlington

  An in Campbell County:

• Campbell County Administration Building, 1098 Monmouth St., Newport
• Campbell County Clerk’s Office, 8330 W. Main St., Alexandria

“It’s important to divert items like holiday lights from the landfill because of the limited landfill space,” Bacher said. “This goes for any non-holiday item such as aluminum cans, glass bottles, and cardboard as well as food waste and yard waste.”

Get more details at greatparks.org and covingtonky.gov.

Cohen Recycling will also accept other electric holiday decor. Find locations at cohenusa.com.

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