Have you recycled your Easter egg cartons?

The Local Government Association is calling on the public to recycle the 8,000 tonnes of waste generated from Easter egg packaging and cards over last weekend's celebrations.


Easter’s traditional association with eggs may have started with painted chickens’ eggs, but the modern preference is for chocolate and they often come in layers of plastic and card packaging.

Britons buy some 80 million chocolate eggs every year, creating 4,370 tonnes of card and 160 tonnes of foil waste, while 16 million Easter cards exchange hands.

Councillor David Sparks, chair of the LGA Environment Board, said: “Chocolate Easter eggs come with a huge amount of packaging that people really must recycle.

“Councils are working hard to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill and ultimately would like to see Easter eggs with less packaging so less waste is produced in the first place.

“Of course the bank holiday is not just about chocolate. We also send and receive sixteen million cards which can all be recycled at council bring sites.”

Councillor Sparks added: “Local authorities are the catalyst for change. People are becoming more conscious of their environment and do want to recycle. Councils are meeting that demand. Recycling is something we must all do if we are to look after our environment for the future.”

Jess McCabe

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