How you can recycle unwanted Christmas lights

Are your Christmas lights more tangled that Rapunzel’s blond locks on a bad hair day?

Are you tired of searching for the burned-out bulb that left a strand on your tree deader than Jacob Marley?

Are you so tired of getting covered in sap while hanging lights that you’re planning to upgrade to a pre-lit, artificial tree next Christmas?

Well, officials in Mundelein, Mount Prospect and other towns -- as well as some privately run companies and organizations -- can help you get rid of decorations that have lost their luster.

Although they may look like junk, malfunctioning or tangled Christmas lights are useful because they contain copper, glass, plastic and other materials that can be recycled. After being crushed, the individual materials can be extracted for new uses.

Mundelein’s public works and engineering department is collecting and recycling unwanted Christmas lights this month. Strands can be dropped off weekdays through Jan. 31 at: the public works and engineering facility, 801 Allanson Road; village hall, 300 Plaza Circle; Mundelein’s main fire station, 1000 N. Midlothian Road; and the police station, 221 N. Lake St.

Lights will be accepted between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. each day. Bulbs don’t have to be removed from strands, but strands should be removed from boxes or plastic bags.

In Arlington Heights, lights can be dropped in recycling bins at the public works building or inside village hall through Feb. 23. And in Wheaton, lights can be dropped on weekdays at the public works storage facility, 820 W. Liberty Drive, through Jan. 19.

Hoffman Estates, Itasca and Mount Prospect are among the other towns that accept lights for recycling.

If driving to any of those communities isn’t convenient, some hardware and home improvement stores recycle unwanted light strands. Mail-in recycling services also are available.

Additionally, Goodwill and other thrift stores often accept working lights.