Showing consideration to the planet this Valentine’s Day by reining gifts in

Valentine’s Day results in a lot of waste. Here’s how to do things differently this year. // Photo by Adobe

Snow covered rooftops, and cold winter nights spent sipping hot chocolate by the fire… the romance of winter means that Valentine’s Day is near. Valentine’s Day is a holiday that sees an incredible increase in love and gift giving, as well as an incredible increase in waste.

Matt Riggs from Recycle Spot was able to shed a little bit of light on exactly how this holiday, and the traditions that surround it, impact our local environment. Between Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day, solid waste in our city increases by an average of about 25%.

According to Plastic Oceans International, and The University of Colorado Boulder, Valentine’s Day alone causes an increase of nine million kilograms of CO2 into the atmosphere. The impacts of the holiday add up to more CO2 emissions than if you were to drive around the world 3,993 times.

This increase in CO2 emissions is largely due to roses. In the United States, we purchase an average of 198 million roses on Valentine’s Day. Due to the decrease in temperature that is seen during this time of year, roses are not able to be grown locally and therefore must be shipped. The, once a year, shipping of millions of flowers is what leads to a massive spike of emissions.

A fresh picked bouquet // Photo by Flutter Farms

A simple way that you can reduce your carbon footprint this Valentine’s Day is by refraining from purchasing flowers at big box stores, and instead opting for local florists. Places such as Flutter Farms in Belton, and My Front Yard Flower Farm in Olathe allow you to pick your own flowers while visiting. Nothing says “I love you” like hand picking flowers for your Valentine. For something a bit more unique, Dutch Flowers in Kansas City’s City Market offers dried flowers, as well as cards containing seeds that can be directly planted.

Aside from flowers, Valentine’s Day forces the production of many themed items that frequently later find their way in the landfills. Among the items that get tossed are: flowers, greetings cards, plastic heart shaped boxes, and an immense amount of food waste. Miranda Rohn of ScrapsKC shares a few ideas as to how to reduce your waste this Valentine’s Day.

ScrapsKC is a creative reuse center located at 3269 Roanoke Rd. They opened in September of 2016 and have kept over 12 tons of material from entering our landfills since. There, you can both purchase and donate used arts, crafts, and office supplies. However, they will not be accepting any Valentine’s Day themed waste this year. To speak on the sheer volume of holiday themed waste produced, Rohn says that they previously had to have an off-site storage facility for all holiday related donations. It is because of this that they will not be able to accept items such as stuffed animals and heart shaped candy boxes.

Recently, making your loved ones holiday themed gift baskets has become all the rage. ScrapsKC makes for an excellent supply stop when crafting your own gift of this nature. You can purchase baskets, colorful plastic containers, and wooden crates. They also carry craft kits such as embroidery and fairy garden making kits that make for excellent activities to fill your basket with to do together. No Valentine’s Day gift is complete without a card, whose supplies can also be purchased at ScrapsKC. They have items such as scrapbooking paper, doilies, stickers, pens and markers, glue, ribbon, and scissors.

For those that are completely lost, and need some help, Rohn will be hosting a “Make Your Own Valentine” event at Third Place Lounge, on 1744 Broadway Boulevard. The event will take place on Feb. 8, 2024 at 7pm. Ticket information can be found on their Instagram page @thirdplacelounge or the ScrapsKC Instagram page @scrapskc. Each ticket purchase comes with a free drink voucher. All items and materials used at the event will be sourced from ScrapsKC.

Aside from material goods and gifts, food waste plays a huge role in the overall waste produced on Valentine’s Day. Between 20-30% of household waste is food waste, and this only increases during the holiday. Reducing food waste is one of the easiest ways that one can reduce the amount making its way into landfills.

The simplest way to reduce food waste is by reducing the amount that is prepared. Cooking a meal at home with your Valentine, as opposed to going out to eat, is a guaranteed way to reduce leftovers, and in turn, reduce food waste. For anything that does end up needing to be tossed, composting food waste is an excellent way to reduce your waste and give back to the environment.

Aside from the various ways listed in this article, there are many more ways to share your love this Valentine’s Day, both for your Valentine and our planet. Simply spending time with others is always a cherished way to celebrate the one that you love. Activities such as baking cookies, going ice skating, or cooking a candle-lit dinner at home together all make for great, minimal waste, Valentine’s Days.