How To Go Zero Waste this Valentine's Day

Valentines Day is a great day to show your loved one how much you care about each other. Below are some great tips on how to celebrate an eco-friendly and zero waste Valentines Day.

Just in the U.S alone, more than 124 million adults celebrate Valentine's Day each year. Think about all the heart-shaped boxes, greeting cards and roses that are exchanged. This results in huge amounts of CO2 emissions, paper and plastic packaging waste, often sent to landfills.

Valentine's Day is an opportunity to celebrate all sorts of love, self-love, affectionate love and romantic love. But, the hidden environmental cost of Valentine's Day is something that should be considered.

There are a few ways to celebrate Valentine's Day without impacting the environment and still making the day memorable and fun.

Here are a few ways to embrace a Zero Waste Valentine’s Day.

 

 

1. Gift Consciously

 

Feel good by giving a loved one a conscious gift that has a low carbon and plastic footprint. Below are a few of our favourite zero waste gifts.

Compostable Phone Case by Pela

Everyone needs a case for their phones, and the most common plastic phone cases carry a huge environmental cost. However, compostable phone cases offer a great alternative and are a perfect conscious gift idea for your Valentine. The World’s first 100% compostable, eco-friendly iPhone and Android phone cases have been released by Pela. Protect your Valentine's phone and save the planet, it’s a win-win.

Reusable Cutlery Set by theotherstraw

Alone in the U.S., it is estimated that 40 billion disposable plastic utensils are used every year. And as our love for takeout grows, so does this number. Plastic cutlery cannot be easily recycled. As a result, plastic cutlery ends up in our landfills or blown into our natural environments and oceans. Reusable bamboo cutlery is one of the best ways to reduce ones’ plastic footprint. Portable and stylish, your Valentine will never need single-use plastic ware again!

Reusable Coffee Cup by Huskee

The paper cups that are used for take-away coffees are polluting our environment. Many of them cannot be recycled, so they end up in our landfills. If your Valentine loves coffee, buying them a reusable coffee cup is one of the best things you can do for our planet! Reusable coffee cups by Huskee are made from coffee husks, that are sustainable, durable, non-toxic, the perfect conscious gift for a coffee lover!

 

2. Swap Greeting Cards for e-Cards or handmade cards

 

  

Valentine's cards are a romantic way to share your feelings to a loved one in writing. If you use paper cards, this year show your appreciation to Mother Earth embrace paperless eCards. There are many free eCard sites available that allow you to unleash your creative spirit this Valentine's Day. Or if you are feeling creative you can make a card yourself from recycled and natural materials.

  

3. Choose Experiences

 

Embracing Zero Waste love is all about embracing experiences! What is more romantic than creating unique, memorable experiences with a loved one?

Here are some ideas we love for a Zero Waste Valentine's Day:

• Go on a Zero Waste picnic in the park
• Buy tickets to a show (make sure you bring your reusables and use a PDF e-ticket instead of a printed ticket)
• Visit a museum

There you go, a few ideas to embrace a Zero Waste Valentine's Day with your lover.

Do you have any tips for embracing a Zero Waste Valentine's Day that you would like to share?

Tell us in the comments below!