Rubicon Technologies has launched the first Valentine's Day campaign of its annual Trash or Treasure program. Now in its fifth year, Trash or Treasure helps reduce the waste that accumulates around seasonal celebrations throughout the year.
Expanding Trash or Treasure in 2024
Over the last five years, through the support of schools, community organizations, and independent businesses across the United States, Trash or Treasure has helped to divert hundreds of thousands of Halloween candy wrappers from landfills, enabling thousands of pounds of plastic to be recycled as part of the circular economy.
Trash or Treasure will now help campaign participants achieve the same goal for Valentine's Day by providing easy-to-assemble mail-back recycling boxes which can be filled with discarded candy wrappers and returned via carbon-neutral shipping provided by UPS.
In a 2023 consumer survey, 57 percent of respondents reported that they would buy candy for their significant other for Valentine's Day. This translates to approximately $2.2 billion spent on candy during the holiday.
"We are so excited to announce the launch of Trash or Treasure: Valentine's Day," said Dan Sampson, chief marketing and communications officer at Rubicon. "The expansion of our successful Halloween campaign means that we can divert even more waste from landfills and take another step forward in creating a greener and cleaner world for all. Our sincere gratitude goes to our campaign participants and partners for their continued support, as they have made the program what it is today."
Trash or Treasure: Valentine's Day will be supported by founding campaign partner, g2 revolution (g2). g2 provides the material management processes that make Trash or Treasure successful each year.
"We are thrilled to partner with Rubicon on Trash or Treasure again in 2024," said Tonya Martin, vice president of business development at g2.
This year's program also sees the return of UPS as the campaign's official shipping partner. UPS has been integral to the positive environmental impact of Trash or Treasure, and its carbon-neutral shipping solutions have been a critical component of the success of the campaign.
Is it trash or treasure?
Core to the success of Trash or Treasure is the campaign's education program, which was created in collaboration with The National Wildlife Federation (NWF), Trash or Treasure's official education partner. Downloadable lesson plans, reading lists, signage, and other collateral are available to help campaign participants rethink what is considered trash and understand its potential value as part of the circular economy.
These materials introduce circular economy concepts that can be integrated into any curriculum, and provide fun, interactive, critical thinking exercises to help students understand recycling and why it is important to the health of our planet.
You can order a free Trash or Treasure box for your school, independent business, or community organization. Trash or Treasure boxes can also be purchased for personal use on the RUBICONMarketplace.
