[Columbia, SC] - Lights Before Christmas is over but Riverbanks Zoo and Garden employees are still busy unwrapping trees, detangling strands of lights and planning for next year. This year, for the first time, Riverbanks has found a way to reuse the thousands of burnt out Christmas bulbs that are typically pitched each January.

"I'd heard about Keep the Midlands Beautiful and their Bulbs to Baubles project," said Dusty Broadway, events manager for Riverbanks Zoo and Garden. "With over 600,000 bulbs displayed during Lights Before Christmas, I knew our burnt out bulbs would keep the Bulbs to Baubles project going for a long, long time."

Americans purchase over one billion light bulbs each year, however, light bulbs are not recyclable. Keep the Midlands Beautiful has paired old bulbs with a little creative talent and developed a collection of bedazzled bulbs that they are selling to the public. Bulbs have been turned into everything from ornaments to earrings. The program has been named the 2005 Waste Reduction Program of the Year by Keep South Carolina Beautiful and the 2003 Most Creative Waste Reduction/Recycling Effort by SC Department of Health and Environmental Control.

"We're thrilled that our bulbs are getting a new lease on life. Without the Bulbs to Baubles project, these light bulbs would have wound up in a landfill. What a great way to illustrate the power of recycling," Broadway said.

Lights Before Christmas ran from November 25 to December 30 and included over 350 lights displays, visits with Santa each evening at Holiday Village, roasted marshmallows and hot cocoa at the Jingle Bell Bonfire and the 3-D movie Santa's Polar Blast. In 2006, Lights Before Christmas will run November 24 through December 30.