Shijiao, China: Where Broken Christmas Lights Go to Die

Americans buy millions of Christmas tree lights every year -- and throw them away as soon as one burns out. For companies in China, that’s creating an opportunity that's almost like panning for gold. A single strand of burned-out Christmas lights weighs almost nothing. So imagine how many strands make up the 20 million pounds of American Christmas lights China recycles every year. That’s the subject of a recent article by Adam Minter in the Atlantic magazine.