FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- A fourth grader in Federal Way has become a real problem solver. She's come up with a way to keep thousands of strings of old Christmas lights from going to the landfill.

"During the holidays they shine oh so bright,
except those strands that just will not light.

Don't put them away for a whole 'nother year,
bring them to Nautilus and recycle them here.

Jessica Lam, a 4th grader at Nautilus Elementary in Federal Way uses that poem as part of the marketing campaign for her recycling program.

The little girl had a big idea: Collect old or broken Christmas lights to raise money for good causes.

"It gets to help the environment and we get to help people, other people, too," Jessica said.

Jessica's teacher, Debbie Mininger, says everyone in the class is excited.

"Jessica worked really hard," she said. "She spent a lot of time on it with her family, making posters and things. So I've been real proud of her."

The family garage is the storage shed, and it's packed with lights -- some broken; some old energy-wasters.

And, her whole family helps. Mom is the designated driver and office manager. Her brother Erik does a lot of the heavy lifting, and Dad helps with marketing.

"It's going great, so that's wonderful," said Jessica's mother Danette.

The lights are sorted into three groups -- one for World Vision, the second for the family's church, and the last for Nautilus Elementary.

Because Jessica likes to read, and because she wants all the kids at school to benefit, the money that she donates to the school will buy books and other materials for the library.

"They want to do something for the environment," said school principal Cindy Black. "Young kids especially take that to heart and if they can contribute something like that it makes them feel pretty good."

So, where do all the lights go? We tagged along when the Lam family loaded up the pickup to take a batch of lights destined for World Vision to the recycling center.

The people who own Calbag Metals in Tacoma are also inspired by Jessica's enthusiasm. Normally, they pay 64 cents a pound for scrap like this, but because the money is going to charity, they give her 74 cents a pound. And they've decided to match the contribution from Jessica's recycling each time she drops off a load.

And she doesn't have to remove the bulbs or strip the wire.

The payout for World Vision this trip? A cool $302.

Overall this year, she has raised over $600, and she's only taken about 1/3 of her haul to the recycler so far. She does plan do to this again next year, bigger and better.

For more information, you can visit her Web site, www.holidaylightsrecycling.com