Nestlé boasts 100% recyclable Easter egg packaging

Nestlé has become the first major confectioner to achieve 100% recyclability in its entire Easter egg packaging range across the UK and Ireland.


In the run up to Easter weekend, the company has removed plastic packaging from all of its relevant products, and replaced rigid plastic with cardboard in its mug eggs.

The move is the culmination of a six-year process that has saved 726 tonnes of plastic waste going to landfill per year according to Nestlé, which sells one in five of the UK’s Easter eggs.

The last products to become 100% recyclable were Yorkie, Munchie and KitKat branded eggs which include a branded mug.

The 48 tonnes of plastic used to secure the mug and egg have been replaced with a compostable film for the windows, resulting in a 30% reduction in packaging.

Nestlé Confectionery UK & Ireland’s managing director David Rennie said that with Easter eggs creating 3,000 tonnes of UK waste each year, the company was determined to address the issue head-on.

“Nestlé carefully considers the environmental impact of packaging as an integral part of its product design. Since the early 1990s, we have been reducing the amount of packaging we use through our global source reduction programme,” he said.

This latest move builds on a comprehensive list of packaging achievements for the company, which has reduced the weight of packaging for small and medium-sized eggs by 30-50% since 2006.

In 2009, the company became the first major confectioner to replace non-recyclable plastic with recyclable cardboard packaging in 20 million eggs – 80% of the range.

Nestlé has also reduced the weight of its medium-sized and large boxes by 17% and 20% respectively.

Maxine Perella

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