The holiday season is winding down, and that means one thing: a surplus of used or broken Christmas lights ready for scrapping. If you’re wondering how to make the most out of scrapping Christmas lights, you’re in the right place. Christmas lights can be a valuable source of scrap metal if handled correctly. Let’s dive into the best practices to maximize your profit and ensure your scrapping efforts are efficient.
Why Scrap Christmas Lights?
Christmas lights are more than just a seasonal decoration. When they stop working or are replaced with newer ones, they become an excellent source of scrap material. While the wire in Christmas lights typically contains lower-grade copper, it still holds value. Separating materials carefully and understanding what scrap yards look for can turn your pile of old lights into cash.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
When scrapping Christmas lights, avoid these pitfalls:
- Throwing Bulbs in with the Wire: Most scrap yards won’t accept bulbs mixed with the wire. Always separate them.
- Assuming All Copper is the Same: The copper in Christmas lights is usually lower-grade, so don’t expect it to fetch the same price as other insulated copper wires.
- Skipping the Inspection: Some older Christmas lights may have unique plugs or connectors that could contain brass or other valuable metals.
Common Scrap Items During Christmas

When you are scrapping Christmas Lights, you should also look for other metals that you can potentially cash in at your local scrap yard. Some things that can show up during the holiday season for scrapping are older TVs and computers that may be getting replaced with newer versions as gifts.
If you collect TVs and computers this holiday season, be aware of what your local yard accepts and doesn’t accept. Some yards may not accept any form of monitor or screen, so you may have to take apart the components for copper, e-scrap, and wire.
You can find a copper yoke inside the TVs that most scrap yards will accept. You can usually take the wire off of it and sell it as a #2 copper wire. Many will think it is a bare bright wire, but a shellac on the outside will prevent it from being clean copper. You can also grab some other various wires and perhaps a low-grade board or two.
You can find Motherboards, RAM boards, CPU chips, hard drives, and more copper wire inside any computer. See the full description of what you can find inside a computer tower.