From mid-November to the end of January, residents may drop-off old sets of holiday lights for recycling at the City of Gainesville's Public Works offices. Holiday lights can also be recycled year-round at any of the Alachua County Drop-Off Centers.
Accepted
Light strings with incandescent, LED, and “icicle” lights, along with wires and attached bulbs.
Not Accepted
❌ No fluorescent tubes
❌ No compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs)
❌ No bubble lights
❌ No liquid-filled lights
❌ No neon lights
These items can be recycled year-round at any of the Alachua County Drop-Off Centers.
No set is too tangled to be recycled!
❌ Do not place holiday lights in your home recycle bins.
Sidestep all the straining work of bagging up grass clippings after mowing your lawn and instead Grasscycle. Grasscycling is the practice of avoiding the generation of yard waste by returning chopped-up grass clippings back to your lawn. By recycling the nutrients from your grass clippings back into your lawn, you’ll reduce the need for watering and can help to eliminate the need for fertilizers.
Keys to Grasscycling:
- Avoid mowing when your lawn is wet, as it will cause excess clumping of the grass clippings.
- Set your lawnmower blades to a height to only remove the top 1/3 of the grass blades. Never cut your lawn too short, or you’ll risk killing the grass.
- Make sure to keep your lawn mower blades sharp, as dull blades can rip up grass stems.
- Use a mulching mower to cut the grass clipping in smaller pieces that will break down quicker and settle into your lawn.
Grasscycling will help keep your lawn thick and healthy while avoiding the hassle of bagging up grass clippings.
From late December to the end of January, residents may set out holiday (Christmas) trees for collection as yard waste.
- Remove all decorations (tinsel, ornaments, hooks, lights, etc.) and tree stands.
❌ No artificial, “flocked” trees, houseplants, or other potted plants.
- Place your tree curbside for collection for removal on your regular scheduled collection day. Trees are collected by the yard waste crews, so remember to set your tree out at least 4 feet from your garbage cart and recycle bins.
❌ Do not set out trees in large bags.
Please note:
- Natural wreaths can be recycled in yard waste containers if all decorations and wires are removed.
- Artificial (fake) trees can not be recycled, but they can be collected as bulk waste items. Artificial trees should be broken down into pieces if longer than five (5) feet in length.
Show your love for our home planet than on Earth Day, April 22. Here are some easy actions you can choose to take right now to improve our environment:
7 Actions You Can Take Right Now In Celebration of Earth Day
- Give your mailbox a makeover and unsubscribe to unwanted catalogs and other junk mailers. The average American household receives 848 pieces of junk mail a year, which equals 1.5 trees every year and more than 100 million trees for all U.S. households combined. Need help canceling items, visit DMAchoice.org.
- Invest in a reusable water bottle that you can refill and stop buying overpriced and wasteful bottled water. Approximately 80% of all plastic water bottles purchased never get recycled.
- Replace single-use batteries in your home with rechargeable batteries. AA, AAA, C, & D rechargeable batteries are all available, last longer, and can be recharged hundreds of times, saving you money.
- Cut your paper usage in half by printing all documents double-sided. Each ton of paper not used or recycled saves 17 trees, 380 gallons of oil, three cubic yards of landfill space, 4,000 kilowatts of energy, and 7,000 gallons of water. Better yet - go paperless and save your files electronically.
- Gather up all your plastic shopping bags and take them back to grocery and retail stores for recycling. Plastic bags are one of the most common contaminants found in oceans and on beaches. Consider switching to reusable shopping bags and eliminate the plastic bags altogether.
- Start a backyard compost pile and divert as much as 30% of your household waste from going to the landfill. For tips and techniques on how to get your backyard compost pile going, visit https://www.planetnatural.com/home-composting/.
- Explore your style or discover new ones by shopping at your local second-hand stores. While shopping second-hand, you are supporting local non-profits and retail employment, as well as helping to boost the local economy.
America Recycles Day is held on November 15th each year to raises awareness about recycling and the purchasing of recycled products.