Throughout this holiday season, the Delaware community can play its part to reduce waste with a pair of recycling events taking place over the next few weeks.

With Christmas decorations going up, anyone who has burnt out lights or simply wants to replace their old strands with energy-efficient LED lights is encouraged to recycle the old strands instead of tossing them in the garbage.

Through Wednesday, Jan. 2, several locations throughout the city and county will be collecting the string lights. Delaware City Public Works, located at 440 E. William St.; Delaware Public Utilities, located 225 Cherry St.; Price Farms Organics on Warrensburg Road; the Delaware General Health District’s Sunbury location at 137 state Route 3; Ashley Wornstaff Memorial Library; and all Delaware County District Library locations will be accepting the recycled lights.

Gift-wrapped boxes at each location will mark the location where the lights can be dropped.

For more information on the light recycling, contact Jenifer Way-Young at 740- 368-1700 or by email at [email protected].

As electronics are likely to remain among the most popular gifts this holiday season, there figures to be an influx of old units being tossed throughout the month. But instead of adding to Delaware’s waste, the City of Delaware, in conjunction with Keep Delaware County Beautiful, Delaware General Health District, and the DKMM Solid Waste District, will take those electronics off residents’ hands to be recycled.

On Saturday, Jan. 4, residents can take their discarded electronics to the Delaware Public Utilities Department, 225 Cherry St., to be recycled. The event will run from 8 a.m. to noon.

Electronics such as televisions, computers, cabling, printers, small appliances, vacuums, musical equipment, phones, chargers, and DVDs will be accepted. LCD, LED, and plasma televisions will include a $20 fee. All other televisions will have a $40 fee, and CRT monitors will include a $10 fee. All fees will be payable by cash or check only.

No items containing freon, such as refrigerators, or alkaline batteries will be accepted.

The electronics recycling event will only be open to Delaware residents, and proof of address such as a utility bill or a driver’s license will be required.

In exchange for the electronics, Delaware residents will receive their choice of a 75-watt LED bulb or LED multi-color string lights. There will be a limit of one LED item per household while supplies last.

“The holidays bring about a lot of new electronics, whether it be from decorating with string lights, or in the gifts people receive. As a result, a lot of waste can be generated,” Delaware Watershed & Sustainability Coordinator Caroline Cicerchi said. “By participating in these recycling programs, you are reducing the waste that may otherwise be going straight to a landfill.”

Cicerchi added the contractor, Accurate IT, is able to recycle things like computer monitors for the glass, plastic, and copper, and reuse those materials.

“This lessens greenhouse gas emissions and helps preserve precious metals that may otherwise be generated and used in the manufacturing process of new electronics,” she said.

Cicerchi said Christmas lights are often incorrectly recycled in curbside bins with items such as paper, plastic and aluminum. Unfortunately, they can get tangled in the machines that sort those items.

“We hope that by encouraging the community to participate in these two recycling events, it helps serve as a reminder that there are better alternatives than the trash for electronic waste,” Cicerchi said.

For more information on the electronics event and a full list of acceptable items, contact Cicerchi at 740-203-1905 or by email at [email protected].