Kane County Recycling Coordinator Jennifer Jarland shares these tips and links, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

(1) Don’t Throw Out Your Valentines!

SOURCE: www.world.org

Candy Boxes

• Use for gift wrapping ties, scarves and gloves.
• Square candy boxes can be used for wrapping gifts, storing art supplies or carrying cross-stitch work.
• Save love letters in heart-shaped boxes.
• Fill with homemade candy.
• Make into a Valentine’s Day card for next year.
• Cut a heart-shaped box so that you have a flat heart. Save and let the kids use it as a template.
• Make a Valentine’s Day decoration for next year.
• Make a Picture Frame.
• Cut and use for index cards.
• Use a smaller box for storing paperclips, rubber bands, etc.
• Use as a decorative change holder for your dresser.

Candy Wrappers

• Use when making homemade candy. Make sure they are clean and dry.
• String the wrappers together through the center to make a party lei.

(2) Crafty Things for Valentine’s Day

• Valentine/ Love Recycle Crafts
• Planetpals Exclusive Valentine Crafts
• Make Your Own Candy Hearts
• Make a “Deck Of Cards” Book (“52 Reasons I Love You”)
• Make Recycled Pop-Can Earrings
• Make a Gift-Recycle Crafts
• Make Your Own Gift Boxes From Recycled Materials
• Make Your Own Paper – Valentine
• Recycle Flowers-How to dry them

(3) Green Valentine’s Day Tips

SOURCE: SIERRA CLUB

• This year, consider giving e-cards instead of paper cards, antique or recycled jewelry, ethical chocolate, organic (or home-grown) flowers, and digital playlists instead of packaged CDs. If you must wrap your gift, consider planet-friendly options.
• Another alternative is to make a card out of old magazines and wall calendars. Another is to give a card made of plantable seed paper; bury it and when the paper biodegrades, the seeds grow into wildflowers.
• Better yet, pluck some peonies from your own garden or bike over to your neighborhood’s farmers’ market to buy a locally grown burst of color (make sure to ask the farmer whether what you’re buying is free of pesticides). Remember, too, that a potted plant always lasts longer.
• As the wonderful Adventure Journal blog (a project of Sierra writer Steve Casimiro) reports in its post “25 Awesome Hearts Found in Nature,” the heart is is a shape that’s not exactly uncommon in the natural world. Take a look!
• Buy Local! Ask yourself whether you really need those strawberries that were flown all the way in from South America. A great way to reduce your carbon footprint is to think seasonally, by finding out what foods are being grown where you live. One option for finding fresh, local produce is to frequent your nearest farmers’ market.

Happy Valentine’s Day 2019!

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