Plea to recycle tonnes of Easter Egg packing

Families were today urged to recycle the 42,000 tonnes of packaging they will discard after eating an estimated 6.4 million Easter eggs.

Recycling body Repak said Irish consumers will spend €32m euro on the confectionery this weekend.

It claimed the paper and cardboard discarded could cover Dublin’s O’Connell Street 90 times over.

Last year more than 16,000 tonnes or 40% of all used packaging was recycled during the Easter period – 14% up on the previous year.

Repak also recorded an overall increase in household packaging recycling of nearly 7% in 2007.

Repak spokesman Darrell Crowe said: “We understand that Easter is a time for celebration and present giving but we are just asking people to take a more environmentally friendly approach to the recycling of all the additional packaging that we see at this time.

“The plastic moulds in eggs are generally accepted into any plastic bottle collection scheme.

“We ask that householders embrace the spirit of recycling this Easter by giving a new life into the old used packaging by recycling your used Easter packaging.”

Householders can visit www.repak.ie for details of local recycling centres.

According to Repak, Easter eggs will generate:

:: 17,270 kg of aluminium foil packaging waste – equal to just over 1,000 mountain bikes

:: 376,596 kg of card or paper packaging waste – which laid out flat would cover an area large enough to cover O’ Connell Street 90 times over

:: 230,295 kg plastic packaging waste – which if recycled could save 1.6 cubic kilometres of landfill space.