Current Prices for Scrap Christmas Lights in Pennsylvania
Current national data shows Christmas Lights averaging $0.38 per pound. Find the most competitive local scrap yards in Pennsylvania and turn those tangled holiday messes into cash.
Average Christmas Lights Price
- Low (up to $0.30): Floor price, typically for small loads.
- Mid ($0.33): A fair deal for standard quantities.
- High ($0.35+): Top-dollar rate. Offered for large commercial loads or by the most competitive buyers.
Pricing verified from 3 live board rates today.
Top Paying Scrap Yards for Christmas Lights in Pennsylvania
Don't just toss those broken strings of lights in the trash. Compare local yard payouts in Pennsylvania against the national benchmark of $0.38/lb. Make sure to call ahead—some buyers have specific rules about heavy plug adapters or battery packs before they'll weigh your load.
Three Rivers Recycling LLC
Einfalt Recycling & Salvage
Weiner Iron & Metal Corp
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🚀 List your scrap yard ⟶Christmas Lights vs. Standard Insulated Wire
The #1 rule at scrap yards: if you mix grades, they’ll weigh everything at the lowest rate. See the price gap below — if you have higher-value metal, always sort and weigh each grade separately to avoid leaving money on the table.
Historical Christmas Lights Price Trends
This chart shows where the market is headed. If the line is climbing, prices are rising — you might get a better deal in a few days. If it’s dropping, don’t wait: sell today before yards lower their buy prices further.
Christmas Lights: Scrap Yard Price vs. World Market (COMEX)
Avg scrap yard price
World market price (COMEX)
Christmas Lights: Spread vs. Exchange — Monthly History
| Period | World price (per lb) | Scrap yard price (per lb) | Spread vs. exchange |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 2026 (current) | $5.767857 | $2.45 | -$3.32 (57.5%) |
| February 2026 | $5.880136 | $2.63 | -$3.25 (55.3%) |
| January 2026 | $5.894887 | $3.54 | -$2.36 (40%) |
| December 2025 | $5.497742 | $3.30 | -$2.20 (40%) |
| November 2025 | $5.064033 | $3.04 | -$2.03 (40%) |
| October 2025 | $5.050242 | $3.03 | -$2.02 (40%) |
| September 2025 | $4.662367 | $2.80 | -$1.87 (40%) |
| August 2025 | $4.477984 | $2.04 | -$2.44 (54.4%) |
| July 2025 | $5.482645 | $3.29 | -$2.19 (40%) |
| June 2025 | $4.883233 | $2.93 | -$1.95 (40%) |
| May 2025 | $4.686194 | $2.81 | -$1.87 (40%) |
| April 2025 | $4.654267 | $2.79 | -$1.86 (40%) |
| March 2025 | $4.919484 | $2.95 | -$1.97 (40%) |
| February 2025 | $4.558107 | $2.74 | -$1.82 (40%) |
| January 2025 | $4.269774 | $1.94 | -$2.33 (54.5%) |
| December 2024 | $4.157855 | $2.50 | -$1.66 (40%) |
| November 2024 | $4.199383 | $2.52 | -$1.68 (40%) |
| October 2024 | $4.431839 | $2.66 | -$1.77 (40%) |
| September 2024 | $4.292683 | $2.58 | -$1.72 (40%) |
| August 2024 | $4.121839 | $2.47 | -$1.65 (40%) |
| July 2024 | $4.375242 | $2.63 | -$1.75 (40%) |
| June 2024 | $4.491083 | $2.70 | -$1.80 (40%) |
| May 2024 | $4.75471 | $2.85 | -$1.90 (40%) |
| April 2024 | $4.363717 | $2.62 | -$1.74 (40%) |
| March 2024 | $3.983645 | $2.39 | -$1.59 (40%) |
| February 2024 | $3.801776 | $2.28 | -$1.52 (40%) |
| January 2024 | $3.811306 | $2.29 | -$1.52 (40%) |
| December 2023 | $3.871226 | $2.32 | -$1.55 (40%) |
| November 2023 | $3.720817 | $2.23 | -$1.49 (40%) |
| October 2023 | $3.609306 | $2.17 | -$1.44 (40%) |
| September 2023 | $3.759833 | $2.26 | -$1.50 (40%) |
| August 2023 | $3.776097 | $2.27 | -$1.51 (40%) |
| July 2023 | $3.8455 | $2.31 | -$1.54 (40%) |
| June 2023 | $3.804983 | $2.28 | -$1.52 (40%) |
| May 2023 | $3.751484 | $2.25 | -$1.50 (40%) |
| April 2023 | $4.007367 | $2.40 | -$1.60 (40%) |
| March 2023 | $4.02821 | $2.42 | -$1.61 (40%) |
| February 2023 | $4.06475 | $2.44 | -$1.63 (40%) |
| January 2023 | $4.115113 | $2.47 | -$1.65 (40%) |
| December 2022 | $3.820726 | $2.29 | -$1.53 (40%) |
| November 2022 | $3.674017 | $2.20 | -$1.47 (40%) |
| October 2022 | $3.430419 | $2.06 | -$1.37 (40%) |
| September 2022 | $3.455283 | $2.07 | -$1.38 (40%) |
| August 2022 | $3.616468 | $2.17 | -$1.45 (40%) |
| July 2022 | $3.4195 | $2.05 | -$1.37 (40%) |
| June 2022 | $4.118667 | $2.47 | -$1.65 (40%) |
| May 2022 | $4.257274 | $2.55 | -$1.70 (40%) |
| April 2022 | $4.649533 | $2.79 | -$1.86 (40%) |
| March 2022 | $4.707694 | $2.83 | -$1.88 (40%) |
| February 2022 | $4.502304 | $2.70 | -$1.80 (40%) |
| January 2022 | $4.4345 | $2.66 | -$1.77 (40%) |
| December 2021 | $4.332226 | $2.60 | -$1.73 (40%) |
| November 2021 | $4.367567 | $2.62 | -$1.75 (40%) |
| October 2021 | $4.432371 | $2.66 | -$1.77 (40%) |
| September 2021 | $4.2864 | $2.57 | -$1.71 (40%) |
| August 2021 | $4.302984 | $2.58 | -$1.72 (40%) |
| July 2021 | $4.347452 | $2.61 | -$1.74 (40%) |
| June 2021 | $4.388783 | $2.63 | -$1.76 (40%) |
| May 2021 | $4.618871 | $2.77 | -$1.85 (40%) |
| April 2021 | $4.192633 | $2.51 | -$1.68 (40%) |
| March 2021 | $4.084726 | $2.45 | -$1.63 (40%) |
| February 2021 | $3.861 | $2.32 | -$1.54 (40%) |
| January 2021 | $3.607435 | $2.16 | -$1.44 (40%) |
| December 2020 | $3.546903 | $2.13 | -$1.42 (40%) |
| November 2020 | $3.21755 | $1.93 | -$1.29 (40%) |
| October 2020 | $3.060177 | $1.84 | -$1.22 (40%) |
| September 2020 | $3.0352 | $1.82 | -$1.21 (40%) |
| August 2020 | $2.909726 | $1.75 | -$1.16 (40%) |
| July 2020 | $2.867581 | $1.72 | -$1.15 (40%) |
| June 2020 | $2.5983 | $1.56 | -$1.04 (40%) |
| May 2020 | $2.377403 | $1.43 | -$0.95 (40%) |
| April 2020 | $2.28595 | $1.37 | -$0.91 (40%) |
| March 2020 | $2.356968 | $1.41 | -$0.94 (40%) |
| February 2020 | $2.574707 | $1.54 | -$1.03 (40.1%) |
| January 2020 | $2.759935 | $1.66 | -$1.10 (40%) |
| December 2019 | $2.774145 | $1.67 | -$1.11 (39.9%) |
| November 2019 | $2.660717 | $1.60 | -$1.06 (40%) |
| October 2019 | $2.621613 | $1.57 | -$1.05 (40%) |
| September 2019 | $2.615533 | $1.57 | -$1.05 (40%) |
| August 2019 | $2.576597 | $1.55 | -$1.03 (40%) |
| July 2019 | $2.693468 | $1.62 | -$1.08 (40%) |
| June 2019 | $2.671833 | $1.60 | -$1.07 (40%) |
| May 2019 | $2.7395 | $1.64 | -$1.10 (40%) |
| April 2019 | $2.914283 | $1.75 | -$1.17 (40%) |
| March 2019 | $2.902032 | $1.74 | -$1.16 (40%) |
| February 2019 | $2.845929 | $1.71 | -$1.14 (40%) |
| January 2019 | $2.675468 | $1.61 | -$1.07 (40%) |
| December 2018 | $2.724823 | $1.64 | -$1.09 (40%) |
| November 2018 | $2.7578 | $1.65 | -$1.10 (40%) |
| October 2018 | $2.768435 | $1.66 | -$1.11 (40%) |
| September 2018 | $2.712817 | $1.63 | -$1.09 (40%) |
| August 2018 | $2.706081 | $1.62 | -$1.08 (40%) |
| July 2018 | $2.807597 | $1.69 | -$1.12 (40%) |
| June 2018 | $3.1238 | $1.87 | -$1.25 (40%) |
| May 2018 | $3.080177 | $1.85 | -$1.23 (40%) |
| April 2018 | $3.08635 | $1.85 | -$1.23 (40%) |
| March 2018 | $3.080758 | $1.85 | -$1.23 (40%) |
| February 2018 | $3.17875 | $1.91 | -$1.27 (40%) |
| January 2018 | $3.215161 | $1.93 | -$1.29 (40%) |
| December 2017 | $3.134855 | $1.88 | -$1.25 (40%) |
| November 2017 | $3.105817 | $1.86 | -$1.24 (40%) |
| October 2017 | $3.103887 | $1.86 | -$1.24 (40%) |
| September 2017 | $3.00865 | $1.80 | -$1.20 (40%) |
| August 2017 | $2.957097 | $1.77 | -$1.18 (40%) |
| July 2017 | $2.732484 | $1.64 | -$1.09 (40%) |
| June 2017 | $2.605467 | $1.19 | -$1.41 (54.2%) |
| May 2017 | $2.556677 | $1.53 | -$1.02 (40%) |
| April 2017 | $2.595367 | $1.56 | -$1.04 (40%) |
| March 2017 | $2.653452 | $1.59 | -$1.06 (40.1%) |
| February 2017 | $2.69925 | $1.62 | -$1.08 (40%) |
| January 2017 | $2.622903 | $1.57 | -$1.05 (40%) |
| December 2016 | $2.497143 | $1.30 | -$1.20 (48%) |
Christmas Lights Scrap Price History — Daily Data
A day-by-day market snapshot in exact numbers. Every day we aggregate buy prices from local scrap yards, recording the average, low, and high. Use this table to track real price movement over recent days.
| Date | Avg price (per lb) | Change | Range (Low/High) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2/17/2026 | $0.33 / lb | +$0.11 | $0.30 - $0.35 |
| 8/30/2025 | $0.22 / lb | +$0.02 | $0.22 - $0.22 |
| 1/25/2025 | $0.20 / lb | — no change | $0.20 - $0.20 |
| 6/30/2017 | $0.20 / lb | +$0.10 | $0.20 - $0.20 |
Untangling the Value: Cashing in on Christmas Lights
Every scrapper eventually ends up with a tangled ball of broken holiday lights. While they might look like standard wire, Christmas Lights are a unique grade at the scrap yard. They contain an incredibly low amount of copper compared to the massive amount of plastic casing and glass bulbs. Because the copper recovery rate is so poor, yards pay significantly less for this material than standard electrical wire. Our data shows the national floor sitting around $0.30 per pound for tangled, bulky loads, while clean strings clipped free of heavy plastic adapters can fetch up to $0.50. The national average generally hovers at $0.38.
Don't Let the Scale Beat You: Prepping Holiday Wire
When you hit the scale in Pennsylvania, the buyer is evaluating your load based on how much garbage they have to process to get to the copper. Because holiday lights are essentially a specialized form of #3 Insulated Wire (Low Grade), mixing them with better material is a rookie mistake. If you toss Christmas lights into a barrel of #2 Insulated Wire or #1 Insulated Wire, the scale master will downgrade your entire load to the Christmas light price. Keep them strictly separated.
Yard Pro Tip: Most yards buy Christmas lights with the small glass or plastic mini-bulbs still attached, so don't waste hours pulling them out. However, if your strings have heavy plastic control boxes, battery packs, or massive vintage C9 bulb casings, snip those off. Excess plastic kills the copper recovery percentage, and buyers will heavily downgrade your load—or reject it entirely as shred—if there is too much non-metal weight.
| Material Condition | Yard Expectation |
|---|---|
| Standard Mini-Lights | Bulbs attached, no heavy adapters or battery packs. Pays the standard holiday light rate. |
| Adapter-Heavy Loads | Tangled strings with heavy plastic wall plugs, control boxes, or massive plastic fixtures still attached. Often downgraded at the scale. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are Christmas lights priced so low?
It comes down to copper recovery. A strand of holiday lights is mostly plastic insulation, glass bulbs, and very fine copper hair-wire. To extract the metal, processing facilities have to chop and separate a lot of garbage. Factoring in the COMEX spot price and processing costs, yards typically pay roughly 94% below bare bright value for this specific grade.
Do I need to take the tiny bulbs out?
For standard mini-lights, no. The vast majority of yards taking Christmas Lights at the $0.38 national average accept them with the bulbs attached. Trying to pull hundreds of tiny bulbs out is a waste of your time. Just ensure you cut off heavy plastic battery packs, control boxes, and massive wall-plug adapters.
Can I mix these with my regular household wire?
Never. If you mix holiday lights into a bucket of $1.60 to $2.34/lb or $2.36 to $3.90/lb, the yard buyer will downgrade the whole bucket. Always keep your Christmas lights completely separate from your heavier gauge electrical scrap to maximize your total payout.
Christmas Lights scrap prices in Pennsylvania on the map
The map shows cities in Pennsylvania with Christmas Lights scrap prices. Click a marker or pick a city in the list below to see Christmas Lights prices in that location.