News Release 054

DEPARTMENT OFFERS "GREEN" TIPS
FOR VALENTINE'S DAY

Volume 36-054

Contact: Renee Bungart

(For immediate release)

573-751-4465

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, FEB. 1, 2008 -- With St. Valentine's Day fast approaching, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources offers a few tips for having an environmentally friendly day.  The weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day are notorious for creating huge amounts of trash, so now is a good time to watch our "waste-line."  Here are some ideas to keep landfills a little less full.

The most traditional gift on Valentine's Day is a bouquet of flowers.  After these flowers dry up, they are usually thrown away and end up in a landfill.  A compost bin provides a better location for the flowers to keep them out of the trash.  For those looking for a different gift idea, call a local florist and ask if they have organic flowers or fresh flowers, trees or shrubs that can be replanted in the spring.

For a more creative gift, consider tickets to a movie, concert or sporting event.  It will provide an opportunity to spend more time with your loved ones and creates less trash.  Look for gifts made from recycled materials such as fleece jackets and scarves made from water and soda bottles and kitchen tools and house décor made from recycled plastic and glass.  Also consider gift certificates to a spa or a favorite store.  When taking a trip to the mall or your favorite shopping store, take some friends and carpool and bring your own shopping bags.

For a homemade gift, make dinner at home and eat by candlelight.  Not only is it romantic, but it can save a little electricity with the lights turned off.  If considering a favorite restaurant instead, walk if it's a short distance away or take mass transit.  For friends and family, bake cookies or make homemade candy and package them in a decorated reusable or recycled container.  And when giving greeting cards, purchase those that have high recycled paper content or that can be easily recycled.  If the gift giver is feeling very creative, there are plenty of great projects for reuse of kids Valentine's cards either on the internet. 

With a little imagination and thoughtful planning, everyone can celebrate a "Green" Valentine's Day.  

For more information on recycling, reuse and composting, contact the Department of Natural Resources' Solid Waste Management Program at 800-361-4827 or 573-751-5401 or by e-mail to swmp@dnr.mo.gov or visit the department's Web site at www.dnr.mo.gov/env/swmp. 

For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel.  For a complete listing of the department's upcoming events, meetings and hearings, visit the department's online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/oac/calendar.htm.

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