2012 Holiday Lights Recycling Drive expanded to Cape Girardeau | Events

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KFVS) - The 2012 Holiday Lights Recycling Drive has expanded to Cape Girardeau.

St. Louis Green, in partnership with Walmart, is once again working to collect unwanted holiday lights. With over 500 collection sites, the partnership hopes to double last year's success.

"Our goal this year is 128,000 pounds, that's four tractor trailer loads diverted from landfills," said St. Louis Green founder Craig Jung.

Organizers say once collected, the lights will be recycled and sent back to manufacturers to be used in new products. A portion of the drive proceeds will go to Operation Food Search, a St. Louis area food bank.

This year they expanded the drive to include Kansas City, Springfield, Columbia, Cape Girardeau and the Metro East area of Illinois. The collection sites, including the 98 participating Walmarts locations, can be found at stlouisgreen.com. Lights can be dropped off at the Walmart locations through Dec. 30, and all other locations through Jan. 13.

Earlier this year, the drive received two statewide awards. The Missouri Recycling Association honored both St. Louis Green and Walmart with its Outstanding Collection Program award. In addition, the Missouri Waste Control Coalition gave the retailer and non-profit organization its Outstanding Achievement award for Environmental Stewardship.

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