Pittsburgh business recycling old Christmas lights for charity
Don’t toss those strings of broken, tangled Christmas lights: Recycle them for a good cause.
Pittsburgh-based Michael Brothers Hauling & Recycling is donating proceeds from recycling Christmas lights to Project Bundle-Up. Project Bundle-Up is an initiative sponsored of The Salvation Army and WTAE-TV to provide warm winter clothes to children and senior citizens.
Boyd Jones, business support manager for Michael Brothers, said owner Steve Milani and his family have “a heart to give back to the community.” The company was able to pitch in just by continuing business as usual.
“We recycle (Christmas lights), anyway. People can bring those any day of the year,” Jones said.
Those who take lights to a Michael Brothers location, such as the Baldwin branch at 901 Horning Road, will receive a small amount of money per pound. Lights can also be donated, without any reimbursement, at 46 different drop-off sites in Washington, Westmoreland and Allegheny counties.
Michaels Brothers has partnered with businesses such as Miller’s Ace Hardware, WesBanco and Busy Beaver to provide collection bins. Those bins will stay until the end of January, but the company will accept Christmas lights year-round and save the proceeds to eventually be donated to Project Bundle-Up.
Miller’s has a store at 4275 Washington Road in Peters Township while there is a Busy Beaver in Washington at 1281 W. Chestnut St. WesBanco has branches at both Trinity Point and Southpointe.
Boyd, a Peters Township resident, has worked to get South Hills communities on board as well. Peters has two drop-off sites, one at the municipal building and another at the Peterswood Park Outdoor Amphitheater.
“It was kind of a natural fit. We reached out to the same municipalities where we already have recycling programs set up … It was like the quickest yes we could get,” Jones said.
According to Jones, last year they collected 16,616 pounds of Christmas lights and made a $8,622.91 donation to Project Bundle-Up. Since 2021, Michael Brothers has recycled 43,000 pounds of lights, donating more than $17,000.
This year they are on track to raise more money.
“We got emails back in September asking when we could get this set up, because we had people with Halloween lights,” Jones said.
Jones and other Michael Brothers employees will join a group of children on a shopping trip. Jones says the kids who Project Bundle-Up benefits “just need a little bit of help.”
“They need a jacket. They need boots, a scarf,” Jones said. “Seeing the tangible effects … It’s honestly incredible to me. I am so blessed to be able to be a part of it.”