Not so Good Friday - Ireland’s no restraints approach to Easter

While many Irish people claim to uphold the Catholic traditions of restraint and abstinence on Good Friday, a large number of us will be too busy stuffing our faces with meat and pre-bought alcohol to pay heed to the religious holiday.

According to recycling body Repak, 50 per cent of Irish people will drink alcohol this Good Friday while 49 per cent will eat meat. In fact, the group's latest research shows 60 per cent of Irish people don't even bother with lent. They're too busy preparing to drink enough beer on Good Friday to fill 53 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

After filling up on booze and beef on Friday, Irish households are set to work their way through 17.5 million Easter eggs, the equivalent of 2,100 tonnes of chocolate, with sales predicted to hit over €36.6 million.

All that chocolate is equivalent to what one marathon runner would burn in calories after doing 4.2 million marathons.

While many of us may dismiss Easter bunnies and Easter-egg hunts as childish, teenagers and adults are actually the biggest consumers of chocolate eggs, according to Repak, with 60 per cent of Easter eggs sold to those old enough to be aware of their sugar intake.

Repak is calling on Irish households to recycle all packaging over the weekend and make use of the “abundance of recycling centres” across the State.

Even though the Republic of Ireland is now ranked second in Europe for package recycling, Séamus Clancy, chief executive of Repak, warns that our high consumption levels over Easter will lead to a sharp rise in packaging waste.

Last year Irish consumers generated over 19,337 tonnes in packaging over Easter and are set to buy an average of eight Easter eggs per household this year; creating enough packaging to fill 160 Boeing 747-800 aircrafts.

Tips for recycling at Easter (and the rest of the year)

– Fold cardboard boxes and put into dry recyclable bin.

– Most Easter eggs are in a PET plastic moulded container (marked by a triangle with the number 1): these can be recycled and go into most plastic bottle collections.

– The aluminium foil wrapped around Easter eggs can be recycled with other dry recyclable items.

– In the unlikely event of there being uneaten chocolate, it can be used for baking and cooking.

Visit Repak.ie to find where recycling facilities are.