AS THE biggest chocolate binge of the year gets under way, gluttons are being asked to consider how they dispose of the wrappings, writes KITTY HOLLAND.
According to Repak, 69 per cent of households will buy Easter eggs and the average Irish shopper will buy eight this year.
Repak chief executive Dr Andrew Hetherington said about 9.5 million chocolate eggs will be consumed – 2.13 for each person.
Although egg packaging would probably be the most obvious waste this holiday, it will only account for about 2 per cent of it.
“The good news is that manufacturers of Easter eggs have reduced the amount of packaging on their eggs by more than 25 per cent over the last three years as well as increasing its recyclability,” Dr Hetherington said. Outer cartons had shrunk, the cardboard was lighter and the plastic inserts used to hold the egg in place had been removed.
He noted that Nestlé Ireland was the first major confectioner to announce 100 per cent recyclable Easter egg packaging, while Mars remained committed to reducing the packaging used across all its products. Cadbury’s had also reduced its egg packaging over the past five years, he said.
As 98 per cent of the packaging used this weekend will not be from eggs, people are being reminded to dispose of this waste responsibly, too.
“We would ask every Irish household to help us smash our annual target of recycling 11 kilos per capita or approximately 50 per cent of all household packaging,” said Dr Hetherington.