Have a very eco-Easter

Easter, with its chocolate egg delights, increases not only the waste-line, but also the waste in landfill.

In the UK alone around 10,000 tonnes of extra packaging are thrown away over the Easter period, a weight of rubbish equivalent to 1,500 double-decker buses.

Garden Organic, a charity based in Warwickshire, is encouraging people to put Easter egg boxes on the compost heap instead of throwing them away.

A spokesperson for the charity said: “Landfill sites are rapidly filling up unnecessarily and it is really important that people start thinking now of other ways to deal with their waste.

“Many people don’t realise that the foil, plastic and card that their Easter eggs come in can all be put to good use.

“We would urge people to consider recycling the foil and plastic packaging and putting the cardboard in the compost bin.”

According to the Waste & Resources Action Plan (WRAP), retailers are doing their best to reduce the packaging used on Easter eggs. However, green campaigners are still encouraging consumers to look for chocolate eggs with reduced packaging, and to recycle the packaging wherever possible.