59 million aftershave and perfume bottles binned every year!
On the most romantic day of the year, Recycle Now is asking the nation’s romantics to show the planet some love on Valentine’s Day.
Recent Recycle Now data shows that households are binning a billion items every year that could be recycled, including 59 million aftershave and perfume bottles – staple gifts for many on Valentine’s Day. But not recycling these valuable bottles mean they face a far from romantic ending, being incinerated or landfilled.
Craig Stephens, Senior Campaign Manager for Recycle Now, said “Valentine’s Day is about showing you care, and when the flowers have wilted and the perfume’s a distant memory, we can all show a little love for the planet by recycling these items. Keeping materials in circulation through recycling reduces emissions and the materials have a multitude of uses. So, this Valentines Day the message of love is simple - keep those perfume bottles out of the bin and in your recycling to show how big hearted you are.”
WRAP’s Recycle Now campaign has produced a Lover’s List of how to recycle popular items exchanged on Valentine’s Day.
Recycling accurately
Perfume & aftershave
If you’ve received a bottle of perfume or aftershave for Valentine’s Day, you can recycle the bottle later so it can be turned into a new bottle, or jar. Glass can be endlessly recycled into many different products like new Champagne bottles for next Valentine’s…or a wedding day!? What’s not to love?
Flowers
What about my flowers, I hear you say? Worry not – your roses will not cost the Earth. You can pop any cellophane wrapping in with your plastic bags and wrapping and take that to your nearest supermarket collection point the next time you shop. The good news is that more florists are now opting for more sustainable paper wrapping, which is great! And with over 6,000 supermarkets across the UK now accepting plastics bags and wrapping at front of store, it’s super easy to ensure you recycle this instead of binning it.
Once your flowers are past their best, you could dry them to use them for home decoration, or dry just the petals for confetti! You can pop them in your garden waste bin for collection, or on your compost heap, if you have one.
Cards and wrapping paper
Whether it’s a sonnet or a limerick, nothing says I love you like the written word in a card. Increasingly, retailers are producing gift cards that are easy to recycle. But if you’re not sure then as long as it doesn’t have glitter or foil on it, it can be recycled.
To check whether you can recycle wrapping paper scrunch it up in your hand. If it stays in a ball and retains its shape, you can recycle it! If it springs back, it should go in your main rubbish bin.
Romantic meal
Last, but not least, the romantic dinner. If you’re planning a home cooked meal made with love, remember to recycle any food waste as you go, if you have a food waste collection. All those lobster shells and strawberry tops can be popped in the food waste caddy. A takeaway is another popular choice for Valentine’s Day, whatever your preference, there are simple ways to love your leftovers and recycle the packaging:
If you’re opting for a pizza, the cardboard box can be recycled, just ensure it’s not soaked in grease – you can cut out the greasy bits and bin them and still recycle the rest. Pop leftover crusts in with your food recycling bin if you have one or out for the birds before it goes in the recycling bin and rinse out any plastic pots of garlic dip and recycle those too.
If your takeaway is a delicious Indian or Chinese, you’ll be pleased to know that most local authorities collect plastic tubs and pots – but check the Recycle Now website to be sure – just rinse them out and pop them in with the usual recycling. That’s if you don’t want to reuse them, of course – keeping something in use is always the best solution!
For other tips on recycling with love, check out our Recycling Accurately A-Z recycling list and visit the Recycling Locator.
Recycle Now is the citizen facing campaign of global environmental NGO WRAP.
Notes to Editor
- Recent figures show UK recycling rates have fallen. While nine out of ten people regularly recycle, nearly eight out of ten put one or more items into the bin that could be recycled.
- A billion items are being wrongly thrown out instead of recycled.