A Which? Survey ‘The truth about Easter egg packaging’ has revealed how much packaging the nation’s favourites contain.
Which? compared the top 10 bestselling branded Easter eggs, to help conscious consumers choose the seasonal chocolate treat that would leave them with the least cardboard and plastic to dispose of.
Around 80 million Easter eggs are bought in the UK each year, leading to around 3,000 tonnes of packaging. In its investigation, Which? found that, on average, 25 per cent of the total weight of bestselling Easter eggs was packaging.
Thorntons Classic large Egg was found to use the most packaging, from those investigated, making up 36.4 per cent of its total weight. However, the Cadburys Twirl Larger Easter Egg packaging makes up only 18.8 per cent of its total packaging weight, and was the egg to use the least amount of packaging from the 10 brands investigated. With the chocolate egg packaged almost entirely in cardboard, most of the packaging can be recycled.
Here is the list of the bestselling brands from worst to best:
1. Thornton’s Classic Large Egg – 36.4 per cent
2. Lindt Lindor Milk Chocolate Easter Egg with Truffles – 28.1 per cent
3. Mars Milk Chocolate Easter Egg and Chocolate Bar – 25.5 per cent
4. Cadbury Crème Giant Egg – 25.1 per cent
5. Cadbury Mini Eggs Extra Large Easter Egg – 24.2 per cent
6. Cadbury Dairy Milk Extra Large Easter Egg – 23.0 per cent
7. Galaxy Milk Chocolate Indulgent Collection Easter Egg – 22.5 per cent
8. Maltesers Large Teasers Easter Egg – 21.6 per cent
9. Cadbury Wispa Large Easter Egg – 20.3 per cent
10. Cadbury Twirl Larger Easter Egg – 18.8 per cent
On a positive note, Which? does report that almost all of the packaging included in the investigation could be recycled. From plastic to cardboard, the majority can be collected by kerbside collection service. Cardboard can be folded down and recycled, the main plastic holder mould can be recycled (check for PET symbol), the foil can be scrunched up and put in the recycling. It is only the plastic windows and wrappers for the smaller additional chocolates that accommodate the main egg that are not recyclable.
Nikki Stopford, Director of Research at Which?, said:
“The UK produces around 11.5 million tonnes of packaging waste every year, and much of this comes from food and drink packaging. Our investigation helps shoppers wanting to cut down on their waste make better decisions this Easter.
“It’s great to see that some manufacturers have taken on board concerns about excessive packaging and that chocolate lovers can enjoy their eggs without too much compromise.”
We were delighted to have received our eggs, courtesy of our Directors. As you can see we opted for the Cadbury Twirl Large Easter Egg, with the least amount of packaging and no plastic cover for the egg.
From everyone at Clarity we wish you a wonderful Easter break. If you have any comments please let us know, and if you have enjoyed reading and would like to receive tips, industry news or information, or would just like to get to know us more, then please subscribe to our monthly newsletter here.
