1-27-2019

Whether someone recycles affects how attractive they seem, according to a recent study by The Recycling Partnership. A whopping 62 percent of Americans think that not recycling is a turn-off.

Younger folks are especially inclined to view being wasteful as a dealbreaker. In fact, adults 18-34 care so much about recycling that they would spend an average of $219 a month — or as much as $2,628 a year — if it meant everything they bought came from companies that make every effort to recycle.

This year, woo your Valentine with these recycling skills:

• Give your Valentine a card made from recycled paper. You can recycle cards only if they are free of glitter and metallic foil. If a card has glitter or foil on it, cut or tear those sections off and throw them away — you can recycle what’s left of the card.
• If you’re giving or receiving flowers, do a crunch test to see if the plastic wrap may be recyclable. If it’s loud and crinkly, toss it in the trash. If it’s flexible and quiet, it can be recycled with plastic bags.
• Once you’re done with the flowers, put them in your green waste.
• Candy wrappers can’t be recycled, so remember to toss them in the trash.
• Wine bottles can be recycled.
• If a wine cork is made from plastic, throw it in the trash. If it is made from natural cork, it can be dropped off for special recycling collection at many Whole Foods locations and other retailers.

Need to find out how to recycle something else? Look it up in our Recycling Guide.