A single strand of burnt-out Christmas lights weighs almost nothing in the hand. But a bale of burnt-out Christmas tree lights weighs around 2200 pounds, according to Raymond Li, the general manager of Yong Chang Processing, a scrap metal processor in the southern Chinese town of Shijiao.
The huge volume was nothing unusual for Shijiao, the world capitol for recycling the old, unwanted Christmas tree lights that Americans throw away every year. Yong Chang recycles around 2.2 million pounds and Li estimates that Shijiao is home to at least nine other factories that import and process similar volumes. Combined, the factories process in excess of 20 million pounds annually.
1 comment(s):
Interesting article. It sounds from the article like the last plant to do this in the United States closed down about a decade ago.
But it does make me interested to know more about how recycling works overall in the United States, as well as in other countries, like China.
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