Eat your Easter eggs responsibly

Traditionally Easter is the the time we allow ourselves to gorge on a chocolate, the variety of products available is huge – but have you ever thought about the packaging?

Chocolate eggs are one of the most over-packaged products available on the market, and the packaging can be recklessly discarded as chocolate lovers tear them apart to get at the goodness.

In Britain, a research group revealed packaging alone can account for one quarter of the total weight the product.

Every year, New Zealand industries and households discard over three million tonnes of construction and demolition debris to landfills and cleanfills.

So as you tuck into your chocolate after this year’s egg hunt, check out this list of what can and cannot be recycled.

WHAT CAN BE RECYCLED Easter egg foil

Clean Easter egg foil can be recycled. Simply scrunch the foil up into a ball before placing it in the recycling bin.

Easter egg boxes

Cardboard and paper packaging around Easter eggs can be recycled. But not soft plastic wrapping - this must go to the soft plastics collection bin at the local local supermarket.

Hot cross bun bags

Another example of soft plastics – if you can scrunch plastic in your hand, then it is a ‘soft plastic’ and cannot be put into your recycling bin.

Please don’t put plastic hot cross bun bags or any other plastic bags into your recycling bin. They can be recycled at your local supermarket in the green soft plastics recycling collection bin. Use the Store Locator to find a collection point near you.