Green Ways To Gift Your Loved Ones!

The world expresses love to their dear ones on February 14th every year. Most of them celebrate it with gifts and/or experiences. We as a responsible recycler understand how our 1-day celebration affects environment for long. Let us share that with you to make sure there is no pollution and just love in the air. Below are some tiny tweaks in your valentine’s day plan to make it even more special and without causing any harm to the environment. Here are some popular gifts exchanged during this lovely time of the year and its consequences.

Flowers

The demand for flowers increases as Valentine’s Day draws near. Most flowers we buy in our local markets are imported from various flower producing countries. A lot of fuel is burned, and pollution is amplified to transport that 1 little rose you want to buy for him/her. A cut flower as a gift may make you happy for a day but it is going to wither after a while. Instead, if you gift a house plant of rose or any other flower, it will remind your loved ones of you every day. This is a much cleaner, greener, and beautiful way of gifting flowers. Don’t you think?

Take away – Gift flowers but as plant.

 

Cards

These days we get stylized, multipage greeting cards in the market. These cards are plastic laminated, glitter decorated which is not environment friendly at all. Also, a single line you write on your own on a recycled paper is much more valuable to the reader than these store-bought cards.

Take away – Give cards but handmade

 

Chocolates

We eat chocolates every time of the year. They won’t taste different, if gifted in a ribbon wrapped, plastic quoted, glittery heart shaped box. Instead, make chocolates together at home or gift a nice premium chocolate wrapped in recyclable paper. The extravagant wrapping is going in the waste bin anyway and is just going to increase pollution.

Take away –Avoid extravagant chocolate gift boxes

 

Fragrances

Most perfume sprays are packed in aerosol bottles. These pressurized cans, if not recycled, release hazardous components in the air. Scented candles, if are not made from natural wax, release harmful chemicals when burning. You do not want to inhale all that and ruin your romantic candlelight dinner. So be alert when buying fragrances for your romantic evening.

Take away – Buy natural fragrances with safe packaging

 

These are just a few examples. There are many more Valentine’s Day gifting ideas in the market rising around this time of the year. As a responsible human being we urge you to know the price you pay, and the mother Earth pays for the gift you choose. Hence this Valentine’s day, show your love to the environment while showing it to your loved ones. Share it with green heart if you agree and will implement it henceforth. Let there be just love in the air this Valentine’s day!

How To Stop Holiday Waste?

The positive and cheerful time of the year is here. We are all celebrating the season with gifts, feasts and decorations. Check out the below table before we talk further,

For us For Mother Earth
Pretty looking gifts Paper and cardboard waste
Home decorations Single-use plastic waste
Gadget upgrades Waste electrical & electronic equipment
Festive glitter Spent lamps waste

These are just a few examples of what we do and what we get in the holiday season. During Holiday season, there is a minimum of 25% rise in the waste generation. Here are some tips to avoid waste and let the planet also enjoy the season.

  • Light Right

Do not buy cheap holiday lights every year. Go for LED lights which are energy efficient, safer for indoor settings and after the holiday, you can just keep them in the box to be used for next year’s holiday and many more holidays to come.

  • Recycle delivery cardboards

Buying everything online is the new normal. As the festive season begins, we will end up buying a lot more stuff online than usual. When that is delivered, we should fold and compile all cardboards and give for recycling. We can even reuse them to store things.

  • Rethink gift wrappers, ribbons and bows

Every year in the holiday season, the length of ribbon bought is bigger than the circumference of the Earth. Where does it all end up? In landfill. If opened carefully, the wrapping papers, ribbons can be used for other decorations and upcycled products.

  • Donate old electronics before gadget upgrades

There are huge discounts/offers/sales for shoppers during the festive season which makes us buy electronics even when our old gadgets performing the same function for us are still working and in good condition. We can donate these to the less privileged to spread the holiday cheer.

  • Buy electronic gift items with rechargeable batteries

Batteries are hazardous waste and finding a recycling solution for them is not easy. Let us try and reduce the waste batteries. When buying electronics for yourself or for gifting, go for the one which comes with chargeable batteries.

  • Check for recycling program

Most electronics manufacturers or retailers have a tie-up with recyclers for responsible disposal of the electronics they are making or selling. Ask for it and responsible the old stuff before you buy new.

  • Home Decorations

Decorating home is one of the most joyful tasks of the season. While doing so, opt for metal decorations instead of one-time use plastic decorations. You can store them well and use year on year without piling up plastic waste.

  • Gift experiences than materials

Avoid materialistic gifts and their wrapping, shipping. Gift experiences! May be event tickets, memberships or just some creative talent showcasing gift. What more experiential gifts can you think of?

Madenat Al Nokhba Recycling Services LLC, P.O Box 128940, Plot no. 597 4240, Dubai Investment Park 2, Dubai – UAE.
Telephone:+971 4 327 1778
Mobile Number:+971 50 719 3795
Fax:+971 4 3271738
WhatsApp: +971 50 719 3795

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