STURGEON BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – As you start getting ready to decorate for the holidays, you may find some Christmas lights that do not work, but rather than throwing them away, a recycling plant in Sturgeon Bay is putting them to good use.

Door County Scrap Metal is collecting unusable string lights, recycling them, and donating all the money to Door County Toys for Kids.

Vice President of Door County Scrap Metal Hilary Heard says, “It’s an easy win-win situation for everybody that you get to dispose of a product that you might not otherwise be able to have an outlet for to do it responsibly, and it doesn’t cost the donator anything other than the time to drop off their product.”

Over the last 3 years, the facility has collected about 1500 pounds of lights, which has helped them raise more than $1000 for the organization.

“Our community is very tight-knit, and Christmas has always been a tight-knit thing in our family. Being able to do something as simple as collect Christmas lights and give back to the community, it just spreads hope and cheer for the winter and Christmas season,” Heard says.

About the drive, the Vice President of Door County Toys for Kids, Jaci Baermann, says, “It’s great to see local businesses give right back to the community. Door County Scrap Metal has been supporting us for the last few years by doing their holiday light recycle event.”

The following is a list of all drop-off locations:

  • Door County Scrap Metal: 1456 Shiloh Rd., Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
  • Travis Price Masonry: 1364 County Rd DK, Brussels, WI 54204
  • Nicolet Bank:
    • Sturgeon Bay East: 236 N 4th Ave., Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
    • Sturgeon Bay West: 34 W Maple St., Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
    • Egg Harbor: 842 WI-42, Egg Harbor, WI 54209
    • Sister Bay: 2477 S Bay Shore Dr., Sister Bay, WI 54234
  • Valmy Happy Hour: 4418 Whitefish Bay Rd., Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
  • JP Express: 5493 Monument Point Rd., Egg Harbor, WI 54209
  • S-Stop: 922 S Duluth Ave., Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235
  • Door Stop Amoco: 5581 Gordon Rd., Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235

All of the boxes will be distributed a various locations across the county by the end of the week, with the collection wrapping up on December 7th.