When you are at the store looking down the Valentine’s Day aisles, do you notice they are surrounded by waste? There is tons of plastic covering almost all the goods and cute, cheap decorations that will only be used once. While I can completely agree that Valentine’s Day gifts are cute, and I do splurge a little on cute decor or presents for my friends and significant other, but I can’t help but notice the obnoxious amount of waste. Here are six ways you can be more eco-friendly during Valentine’s Day.
- Don’t Buy in Excess
-
It’s always fun to look at all the cute products they have for Valentine’s Day, but you shouldn’t buy it all. You can save money and plastic by buying bags of assorted candy, rather than several different bags of treats.
- Opt For More Environmentally Friendly Packaging
-
If you are planning on buying someone a gift try to look for things that have less plastic and more environmentally friendly packaging. Instead of getting the big box of chocolates that have flavors that nobody likes opt for a chocolate bar or a smaller box. There are so many other environmentally friendly alternatives you can find that are just as good or even better products.
- Say ‘No’ to the Cute, Single-Use Decor
-
Stores have so much cute decor, but a lot of it will be thrown away after this Valentine’s Day. If it’s not something you are going to use for a long time, then don’t buy it. If you do want to buy decor by things that you can use year after year, not the plastic single-use decorations. That way you can have cute decor and put less waste in the dump.
- Be a Smart Gift Giver
-
Sometimes the better Valentine’s Day gift isn’t something cute and cheesy from the Valentine’s Day section at Walmart. Think about who you are getting a gift for and get something they will enjoy. That way there is less of a chance that they will toss the gift after a while and you can get them something that isn’t surrounded by plastic.
- Regift Items You Don’t Want
-
If someone gets you gifts that you don’t want or like, then you could regift it to someone else (don’t worry, I won’t tell). It doesn’t even have to be a formal gift. If someone gives you a box of chocolates and you don’t like all the flavors, you could share it with your friends or coworkers.
- Reuse the Packaging
-
Let’s say you wanted to satisfy your craving and buy yourself a box of chocolates. After you are done, you don’t have to throw the box away. You can use the box to store and organize things. You could even use it later to have a cute box to give someone else a gift in or you could craft it into something such as a cute jewelry organizer.
In the end, nobody is perfect, and it is impossible to live completely waste-free. But you can do your part this February by trying to reduce your plastic consumption and divert that waste from your trash bin.