Flower pollution is often overlooked, while floral waste reportedly accounts for 16% of the total river pollutant. How can we treat flower waste and turn it into everyday use items?
Vaishali ThakurFlower
Every year, around 8 lakhs tonnes of flower waste is being dumped in the Indian rivers adding to all the other factors choking them to death. Mostly flower waste is thrown directly into our water bodies, the harmful pesticides and insecticides used to grow the flowers remain as residue on the flower and as a result when thrown into the water body it gets mixed with water thereby polluting the water body and hampering the fragile ecosystem.
While there are a number of organisations who are now working towards recycling and reusing flower waste, flower pollution continues to rise. And that’s simply because we as consumers of flowers are not treating the waste effectively. Here are some ways on how we can start treating flower waste at home.
Create a mesmerising potpourri: Take the floral waste and let it dry for a day or two. Mix these dried flowers with your favourite spices – you can choose from cinnamon, star anise, clove, dried citrus peels etc. Put these together in a jar. Add a few drops of essential oils from aromatherapy range or you can add the drops of your favourite perfume too. Seal the mixture and let it mature for over a period of 10 days. Your potpourri will be ready to mesmerise your guests next time!
Convert your rotten flowers into a scent for floor mopping: Take 1/4th cup of dry or rotten flowers and mix it with one cup of baking soda. Add a tablespoon of salt to it and your fragrant floor mopping solution is ready. You would no longer need a room freshner or any other kind of room perfumes.
Redecor Your Home Walls With Floral Art: Pressed flowers create a beautiful home décor piece. Just arranged the flowers in a beautiful pattern and you will be ready to redefine your home space. All you will need is a sheet of colourful paper or white paper along with a cardboard and a design to create this masterpiece. Make sure you dry the art piece completely, once done you can frame it up!
DIY Flower Candles: It is time to take candle making and use it for the purpose of reducing waste from the planet. In case you are not someone who wants to go the whole hog to make candles, simply dry the discarded flowers and just paste it on regular white candles