You don’t even want to know how many plastic wrapped roses we are going to get through on this one Valentine’s day. Oh you do? According to the Flowers & Plants Association, “sales of all fresh flowers double on Valentine’s day, with over 9 million red roses being given in the UK. Worldwide, billions of roses – mostly red – are traded on this one day alone.”
A mind bending statistic that raises numerous concerns – however as this is a plastic obsessed blog lets think about the amount of rubbish 9 million roses will create.
Now some people may tell you that flowers come cellophane wrapped and that cellophane is a plant based plastic and so biodegradable. Cellophane was indeed a plant based plastic. However as most piano keys are no longer made of ivory most cellophane is now longer plant derived. The term cellophane has come to used to describe the petroleum based plastic product that looks and feels just like it.
So 9 million roses, many of them wrapped in plastic, thats in the uk alone -arghhhh.
So this year my husband will be going to a florist buying one bloom and insisting that it is wrapped in paper.
It will of course be a complete suprise to me.
The purty picture is Valentines Day Red Rose Originally uploaded by Justin Lucarelli