Live Green Lexington

Holiday lights cause serious problems at the Recycling Center, especially this time of year. Never put them in your blue recycling cart. You can take them to the Electronic Recycling Center year-round.

The city is also partnering with businesses and organizations throughout Lexington to set up holiday light drop off locations to make proper disposal of holiday lights even more convenient. The list of participating locations will be coming soon.

The holidays are a busy time at Lexington’s Recycling Center. Help us keep the center running smoothly by recycling right. Find out how to properly dispose of your holiday waste below:

GREEN TRASH CART

These items go in the green trash cart, never in the recycling:

• Wrapping paper
• Padded envelopes
• Sticker sheets
• Ribbons, bows and string
• Tissue paper
• Bubble wrap and air pillows
• Plastic packaging
• Plastic bags, cellophane and film
• Musical greeting cards

BLUE RECYCLING CART

These items are recyclable in Lexington:

• Greeting cards and envelopes
• Gift boxes
• Shipping boxes
• Wrapping paper tubes
• Catalogs
• Paper bags and gift bags

View the full list of recyclable items and download a flyer for the home, classroom or office at LexingtonKY.gov/Recycling.

The list of recyclable items applies to homes with either private or city recycling services. Items not listed are not recyclable in Lexington regardless of your waste hauler.

If your home is serviced by a private waste hauler and you do not have a recycling cart, drop off your recyclables at one of Lexington’s free drop-off locations. Find one near you at LexingtonKY.gov/Recycling.

GRAY YARD WASTE CART*

Remove all decorations lights, hangers, wires, candles and other non-organic material before placing natural items in the gray yard waste cart:

• Wreaths
• Poinsettias
• Garland
• Holly
• Pumpkins
• Gourds

CHRISTMAS TREES*

• Natural Christmas Trees: Remove all lights and decorations. Place at the curb on your regular collection day. Natural trees will be composted at the city’s composting facility.
• Artificial Christmas Trees: Break down artificial trees and place them next to your green trash cart at the curb on your regular collection day. Artificial trees in good condition can be donated to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore. Visit LexHabitat.org/ReStore for details.

ELECTRONIC WASTE

Recycle eWaste at the Electronics Recycling Center located at 1306 Versailles Rd. This service is free for Fayette County residents. No businesses or organizations, please. Visit LexingtonKY.gov/eWaste for hours and a complete list of acceptable items. Common holiday eWaste includes:

• Holiday string lights
• Televisions
• Computers
• Hand-held games
• Game consoles
• Cell phones

Never place eWaste in the blue recycling cart.

REDUCE YOUR HOLIDAY WASTE

Recycling and composting reduces waste heading to landfills but still required energy and resources. Reducing your overall waste is even better. Use less this holiday season with these tips:

• Give unwanted items in good condition a second life by donating them. Find a local organization near you at lexingtongreenguide.com. This guide was developed by a group in the Citizens' Environmental Academy.
• Use a reusable shopping bag.
• Reuse gift boxes and gift bags.
• Purchase items with less packaging and packaging that is recyclable in Lexington.
• Use old newsprint, gift bags, and catalogs instead of purchasing new wrapping paper.
• Give rechargeable batteries with gifts that requires batteries.
• Give experiences, not things.

*These services are available for homes with city waste collection services. If your home is not serviced by city waste collection, contact your private hauler for more information regarding different waste services. 

311 Alerts is a system that allows residents to sign up for text or email notifications about city services and programs.

Citizens may register to receive notifications for:

• Curbside waste collection schedule changes due to holidays or weather
• Vacuum leaf collection dates and schedule
• Special collection events such as Household Hazardous Waste Collections and Paper Shred
• Volunteer events such as Reforest the Bluegrass and River Sweep.
• Alerts when conditions are right for sanitary sewer overflows. 

Visit LexingtonKY.gov/ 311alerts or register through the LexCall app for Android and iPhone. Select which notifications you’d like to receive, choose text or email notifications and provide your contact information.

To register for text and email notifications, complete the form twice – once for each method of communication. You may choose to receive different notifications by text than by email.

Paper shred
Saturday, Nov. 17 
9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Old Landfill Pad (1631 Old Frankfort Pike)

Fayette County residents may bring up to five boxes or bags of material to be shredded at no cost. No wet material will be accepted. Free for Fayette County residents.

Great American Cleanup
Anytime
Anywhere

Coordinate a cleanup in your neighborhood, near your school, in your local park – anywhere! Register your event with Keep Lexington Beautiful, and receive free bags, gloves and other supplies.

When pet waste is left on lawns, trails or sidewalks, rain washes it into the city’s storm drains that lead straight to our local streams.

What can I do to help?

• Always pick up your pet’s waste.
• Carry a plastic bag when walking your pet so that you can dispose of pet waste properly.  Some parks have pet waste stations with bags and trash cans that you can use.
• Pet waste should be bagged and put in the green trash cart, not the blue recycling cart or the gray yard waste cart.
• DO NOT compost or use pet waste as a garden fertilizer.

LEARN MORE

Share your Acts of Green on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and tag them #LexGoGreen to show others what they can do. Acts of Green can be big or small:

• Plan a neighborhood clean up. Register with Keep Lexington Beautiful.
• Plant a tree. Learn where to plant certain trees and what trees do well in Kentucky.
• Paint a storm drain to raise awareness of water quality. Learn how.
• Pick up after your pets on walks and in your yard to prevent pet waste from entering local streams through storm drains.

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