Wed, 9th Dec, 2020
Once again, KMK Metals Recycling Ltd. has teamed up with Tullamore’s Bridge Shopping Centre, Harbour Place Shopping Centre in Mullingar and Golden Island Shopping Centre in Athlone to give shoppers the opportunity to recycle old and broken Christmas lights for free. Any money raised recycling the Christmas lights will be donated to the Midlands Simon Community.
Specially-designed trolleys have been placed in each of the three shopping centres making it simple for members of the public to drop off lights while out shopping. The trolleys will remain in place until the end of January giving people the opportunity to take down their festive decorations and recycle any indoor or outdoor Christmas lights that are no longer working.
Max Kyck, General Manager of KMK Metals Recycling, said: “We expect to collect fewer Christmas lights through our annual appeal as people won’t be shopping as regularly due to COVID-19 concerns, but it is still important to raise awareness about the importance of recycling. We don’t want to encourage people to go to their local shopping centre just to recycle their lights, but to bring them along when they are doing their weekly shop. The most important thing is that people do recycle their lights and don’t throw them into the general waste bin or let them gather dust in the attic. They can also be recycled for free at the local civic amenity or recycling centre and at participating electrical retailers, but this way a very worthy charity also benefits.”
People are asked to use the trolleys solely for recycling Christmas lights and to remove any packaging beforehand.
Midlands Simon Community offers many services to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, to help get them back on their feet as quickly as possible. The charity offers services and support to people in the Midlands region of Offaly, Westmeath, Laois and Longford and aims to help users of the service to rebuild their lives and move out of homelessness into a permanent home.
KMK Metals Recycling Ltd. provides for the environmentally sound management of waste metal in all its forms and collects 75% of Ireland’s waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), bringing it to two state-of-the-art facilities in Tullamore, Co. Offaly and Kilbeggan, Co. Westmeath, where it is processed by a team of highly-qualified staff using the best available technology. The company employs approximately 120 local people.