Stop! Don’t Throw Away Your Holiday Lights in Dubuque

I feel like every holiday season I write about this, and honestly it makes sense. Now, I have been mending my old, pre-lit Christmas tree, plus the abundance of light strands for my roof and home exterior since my family moved to Cascade. For years I have meticulously replaced blown bulbs. In total this year, I replaced nearly 100 mini-bulbs. It was to the point that my wife suggested throwing them out and starting over. But that got me thinking yet again; are you supposed to just simply "throw out" Christmas lights in the trash?

Most people don't give it a second thought, but after years of news releases from our area waste management agencies, I can assure you that holiday string lights just might be the bane of their existence. I know what you're thinking. String lights? Seriously? What damage can they do? Well just you pull up a chair and let 'ole Drake 'spin the yarn' about how we should really be recycling our holiday lights.

Get our free mobile app

A Holiday Rhyme for the 'Bright' at Heart

’Twas the week before Christmas, when all through the town,
Old light strands were flickering, some needed thrown out .
The landfill was stirring, “Oh no, not again!"
For tossed-out light strands would jam up the bins.

But smart little helpers, all wise and nice,
Knew recycling those lights was the better advice.
“Just drop them off local!” Saint Nick gave a cheer,
“And you’ll stay on the 'Nice List' the rest of the year.”

So, gather those strands that no longer ignite,
And give Mother Earth, a small gift of delight
For nothing says “holiday spirit” quite right,
Like keeping those naughty, tangled-lights, out of sight.

Ok. So, I'm no Charles Dickens, but you get the idea, right? But, here’s where things get real: holiday lights are basically the perfect storm of “stuff landfills hate.” They’re made of copper, plastic, glass, and wiring that takes forever to break down. Worse yet, they love to wrap themselves around sorting equipment, jamming gears, causing shutdowns, and generally giving your local recycling center staff a headache big enough to rival Black Friday shopping traffic.

And yet, these materials are super recyclable. Local programs recover and reuse that copper and plastic to produce new goods, all while reducing waste volume in our, already rapidly filling, landfills. In Dubuque alone, more than 12,000 pounds of lights have been recycled since the program began, and that number grows every year.

Where to Drop Off Your Lights This Season in Dubuque

If your old strands have finally given up the ghost, don’t trash them, rather, recycle them! Right now through January 10th, 2026, you can drop unwanted holiday lights at several convenient locations:

• City of Dubuque Municipal Services Center, 925 Kerper Court
• Carnegie-Stout Public Library, 360 W. 11th St.
• Dubuque County Library Asbury Branch, 5290 Grand Meadow Dr.
• Dubuque County Library Peosta Branch (NICC), 8342 NICC Dr.
• DMASWA Landfill, 101 Airborne Rd.
• Dyersville City Hall, 340 First Ave. East
• Steve’s Ace Hardware (all three Dubuque-area stores)

You can also recycle lights year-round at the DMASWA Landfill, though electronics drop-offs require an appointment which you can schedule at dmaswa.org.

So gather those tangles, the broken, the dim,
Drop them off with a smile on a sustainable whim.
Then Santa will chuckle, as he cites what's right:
“Happy Recycling to all, and to all a good night!”