~ February 2nd 2022 – Blog by UCRRA Office Manager Melinda France ~
If you were asked to describe Valentine’s Day in one word, most of us might say LOVE or ROMANCE and associate the color RED or PINK with Valentine’s Day. No one would probably associate the color GREEN with Valentine’s Day…but this blog will help Gift-Givers everywhere incorporate the color GREEN into your Valentine’s Day by showing LOVE for our planet and natural resources! Holidays can sometimes be stressful, and most of us over-spend or over-indulge with our impulse to buy bigger, better, newer things. But gift-giving doesn’t have to center on ‘new stuff’ which takes a toll on our environment. Take some tips from the UCRRA Recycling Outreach Team!
Gifts with Love: Zero Waste Gift Giving Ideas ~
- Gift someone a potted plant instead of a bouquet of flowers. This kind of gift can be enjoyed all year long, or they can plant it in their garden in the Spring!
- Make your own gift with items around the house. You can spend hours trying to figure out that perfect gift and it could actually be something you already have laying around the house. Homemade gifts are the best because they show the receiver that you went that extra mile to make something special. Make a collage of photos of some of your favorite moments together. Upcycle an old jar with your favorite photo to make a waterless snow globe. Bake cookies, breads, home made treats!
- Give that special someone something sentimental. Share a special hand-me-down, a family heirloom, a family recipe, or a treasured gift from your past.
- Shop local and try to avoid online shopping. Consider the environmental impact of these packages shipped from all over the world. Shopping locally directly supports local businesses and can support green businesses too. Unique and one-of-a-kind treasures can be found at local thrift stores like Habitat for Humanity, The Town of New Paltz Reuse Center, the Salvation Army, Peoples Place, or other charitable organizations.
- Make a donation to a charitable organization in someone’s honor.
- Give the gift of experiences; memories last forever! Take a walk/hike, plan a cooking class, movie night, or dance class together. You don’t have to travel far to have fun – you can plan a date at home that is geared towards a theme ex. Evening in Paris, Day in Italy, a favorite game, or campout (inside of course).
- Make your own Valentine cards! Get creative and make a collage using magazines, old sheets of music, or maps to help with designing a one-of-a-kind card for your one-of-a-kind Valentine. Upcycle old candy wrappers, packaging, or old photos. Search the internet for thousands of creative examples. E-cards are also waste-free, but not as personal and special as a homemade card. If you don’t have the creative touch, look for a greeting card made with recycled paper ~
- Who doesn’t love chocolate?! Look for fair trade chocolates when shopping.
Gift Packaging Recycling 101
According to a study by the Environment Protection Agency (2017) 30% of all waste is containers and packaging. Try to avoid companies who over-package products. Some gifts are packaged in cardboard, paper, plastic molded shapes, Styrofoam and other materials. It can be confusing to know what to do with the packaging waste. When in doubt, contact your recycling service provider with specific questions about what can be recycled in your recycling program.
Always Recycle These :
- Old Greeting Cards or other paper Valentines Day cards
- Wine bottles – Remove and discard the cork or search for a local cork recycling program.
- Cardboard – Boxes must be empty, dry, and flattened. Remove any inner packaging.
- Gift wrapping paper and tissue paper – Generally is acceptable in the recycling bin as long as paper it not metallic, glittery, etc.
- Plastic packing pillows (deflated) and bubble wrap can be recycled with plastic bags and film plastic at the grocery/retail stores.
Please do not Wish-cycle These:
- Valentines Day Balloons
- Candy wrappers
- Greeting cards that play music through microchips
- Stuffed animals – do not belong in the recycling bin, but can be donated to a charitable organization or recycled in some clothing/shoe drop-off bins.
- Chocolate boxes with molded plastic trays inserted into the box. If you can remove the inner tray, then the cardboard box itself is recyclable. Discard the plastic tray.
- Miscellaneous-shaped rigid plastic molds (such as plastic packaging that would hold a chocolate egg, chocolate bunny, etc. inside a paper/cardboard package)
- The cellophane-like material that’s used to wrap a bouquet of flowers is NOT recyclable in curbside recycling OR in film plastic recycling programs. If you’re not sure what plastic bags or flexible film plastics are recyclable, try “the stretch test.” If you pull and stretch the material and it does not expand/stretch, it’s not recyclable with other plastic bags and films.
- Ribbons and bows are BEAUTIFUL but are considered ‘tanglers’ that can jam recycling equipment. They are not recyclable but can easily be REUSED!
- Expanded polystyrene foam and packing peanuts should be disposed of in the trash or you can ask if anyone could REUSE them to ship packages to family and friends.
- Flowers (dead) should not go in the recycling bin but can be composted! To learn more about local composting options please click here.
Try these Zero Waste Gift-Wrapping Ideas!
- Wrap the gift in recyclable paper! Look for wrapping paper with the highest post-consumer content. This means that fewer trees had to be cut down for the wrapping paper to be made. According the EPA, recycled paper generates 74% less air pollution and uses 50% less water compared to new paper; during the production process. This also applies to gift bags, gift tags and cards!
- Wrap the gift in old calendars, newspaper, maps, pages from old books, etc.
- Wrap it as part of the gift- body scrub in a towel, a gift card in socks, or a book in a blanket! Two in one present!
- Put the gift in a reusable gift basket or bag!
- Use old greeting cards as gift tags.
Millions of roses, bottles of wine, chocolate wrappers and cards are bought each year for Valentine’s Day and a lot of those items are thrown away. We are not asking you to give up the LOVE you have for this holiday, but to show some of your love to the planet Earth as well. We can rethink waste and learn not to show our love with ‘new things’ that don’t always last in our lives forever…. but can last forever once buried in the landfill!
Thanks for visiting our blog and helping us to rethink waste!
