Enjoy your egg, but recycle packaging this Easter
Irish people are expected to consume more than 12.5m Easter eggs over the holiday weekend — an average of six per household.
Despite all the eggs consumed, the packaging counts for less than 2%, or 500 tonnes, of all the packaging generated over the weekend.
In addition, more than 14.5m bottles and jars in waste will be generated, especially from Good Friday parties.
Last year 10% more wine and 8% more spirits were bought over the Easter period than in 2011.
And with families organising their own gatherings, there is expected to be more tea and coffee consumed as well as breakfast foods, lamb, and turkey.
Last year, 20% more lamb and turkey was bought than in 2011.
Newspapers also experienced a growth of almost 8% in sales during the Easter holiday last year.
Following a record packaging recycling year last year, Repak is aiming to recycle 22,500 tonnes of used household packaging this Easter, a 6% increase on the previous year.
Last year, over 21,000 tonnes of packaging was collected and recycled over the Easter period, up 14% on 2011.
Repak spokesman Darrell Crowe pointed out that packaging waste generated over the Easter holiday period was 15% more than that produced over an average month.
He said many confectionery companies had reduced their packaging by more than 25% over the last few years.
“We are delighted that many confectionery companies have been making continuous efforts to reduce their environmental impact, by not only funding producer recycling schemes like Repak, but also by driving packaging reduction initiatives on their confectionery products.”
Mr Crowe said people could use the Recyclemore app to locate the nearest recycling facility to them or alternatively visit www.recyclemore.ie for more information on bring bank locations and recycling centres in their area.
