Eggs that are shedding their packaging, or some of it.

Never before have so many multinational confectionary retailers harked on about cardboard content, plastic packaging and recycling potential. It’s good news I suppose, but I’m not fully on board.

Yes, it’s a step in the right direction that Mars is reducing the amount of plastic in its Easter eggs and is committed to using recycled cardboard - a measure that it estimates will save 12,000 trees - but it has only reduced the thickness of its plastic inserts by 10 per cent. Let's not get too excited. Looking at the press release and the company’s new eco logo, see bottom of post, you would think it had found a way of avoiding the use of plastic altogether.

Then there’s Cadbury’s unboxed eco-egg, a foil-wrapped hollowed out egg. But has anyone seen one? Please tell me you have, because all I can find is the usual rows of plastic and cardboard encased eggs, each one marketing a different chocolate bar.*

Meanwhile Sainsbury’s promises that all its “boxed Easter eggs have reusable, recyclable or home compostable packaging.” I’m wondering how to reuse the plastic insert, or is it supposed to be recyclable? And surely that depends on your council - some accept only PET plastic bottles. I'm also wondering if I'm being a party pooper, about as welcome as a fox at a gathering of Easter bunnies...

I still think that buying little eggs, such as these Fairtrade ones from Divine or these from Green&Blacks, is best. Then you can have all sorts of fun filling china egg cups with them or hunting down alternative ways of packaging them. An empty egg box is perfect or an old yoghurt pot or olive pot, decorated with ribbon or wrapping paper.

If that sounds too much like hard work, go for a Booja Booja chocolate egg (a collection of them is shown in the picture above). It’s shell is a thing of beauty as well as being reusable. It is a handpainted gift box made by artists in Kashmir. The chocolate inside is organic, vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free, so it’s good for you too. Sort of.

* UPDATE: I take it back. I've found them. Very sweet looking too, but still outnumbered by the normal eggs in my local Waitrose.

Comments

[tacoma florist]

these are perfect.

[Hannah Phillips]

I have seen the non packaged Cadbury's eggs in Tescos. They are on the very top shelf in the confectionery aisle, NOT the Easter egg one.
As for re using plastic inserts they can make very good Easter egg molds next year. If you get some that are the right shape.
We buy the little ones and then do an Easter Egg hunt in the back yard. While I accept this is not practical for older people. It does prolong the Easter egg excitement. However I am sure that a Easter egg hunt could be quite fun after a few glasses of fairtrade organic wine! :-)

[hedgewizard]

Of course, what we really want are chocolate eggs that don't need any packaging because they don't break because they're SOLID CHOCOLATE!

[Eco Worrier]

Hannah - last year, I made about ten of my friends run round a garden in Yorkshire looking for the eggs that I had hidden. I'm pretty sure I enjoyed it more than anyone else - it's such fun finding little nooks and crannies in trees and walls to squeeze brightly coloured foil eggs - but everyone was a good sport. Absolutely no reason why adults can't enjoy Easter Egg Hunts

Hedgewizard - let me know when you find one!

[Jane]

Hi eco worrier
I have been directed to this site from "A Don's Life" blog, where there are a lot of scientific experts, to whom I first addressed my question in the hope of scientific enlightenment (sic).
My worry is, how to dispose of electric lightbulbs.
I've heard vague rumblings about the new long-life ones, and would like clarification in case I break one or something.
Also, I have a stock of old-style bulbs which I would like to throw out and replace with long-life, and I feel guilty putting them in the dustbin. What is the correct method?

While on the subject, should the Local Authority be posting information about these matters, as they provide us with 3 different types of rubbish bin?
Thanks for your help.

[Jane]

Hi eco worrier
I have been directed to this site from "A Don's Life" blog, where there are a lot of scientific experts, to whom I first addressed my question in the hope of scientific enlightenment (sic).
My worry is, how to dispose of electric lightbulbs.
I've heard vague rumblings about the new long-life ones, and would like clarification in case I break one or something.
Also, I have a stock of old-style bulbs which I would like to throw out and replace with long-life, and I feel guilty putting them in the dustbin. What is the correct method?

While on the subject, should the Local Authority be posting information about these matters, as they provide us with 3 different types of rubbish bin?
Thanks for your help.

[Eco Worrier]

Hello Jane

I have written about this very good subject several times in the past. You should find my article about chucking out energy saving bulbs here http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article3554621.ec

The one on what to do with old-style bulbs I cannot get online, so here it is in full:

I am considering replacing all my old light bulbs with more efficient ones. Can we recycle the old ones?

Bravo. Doing this will lighten your carbon footprint and help to tackle climate change. We in Britain waste more energy than other Europeans, according to research by the Energy Savings Trust out this week.

You've also chosen the perfect time to reassess lighting. Clocks go back tomorrow and we bid farewell to long days of natural light. Not that this should drive us to long-haul travel in pursuit of winter sun (a green sin). Instead, we should relish the opportunity to recline on the sofa, with curtains drawn and low-energy bulbs glowing.

But before you get too comfortable, let's look what to do with a spent bulb.

While few local authorities accept bulbs as part of collection schemes -due to their fiddly glass, metal and mercury components -companies such as Rabbitt Recycling (rabbittrecycling.co.uk) and Mercury Recycling (mercuryrecycling.co.uk) will give you containers to fill with old bulbs and come back and collect them.

But they deal mainly with big organisations and businesses. For home-dwellers, coming up with a reason not to chuck them away is tough. I'm all for reusing objects creatively around the house but I'm not convinced by suggestions that you can make Christmas tree decorations from painted light bulbs.

Far better to concentrate on making the swap from standard bulbs (known as incandescent) to energy-efficient ones, otherwise called compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), which last, on average, 12 times longer.

Then the painful process of sending used bulbs to landfill would swing round less frequently. All the latest models and retailers of CFLs can be found at est.org.uk.

Next, prepare to be blinded by the efficiency of LED (light emitting diodes) lighting. An LED lasts five times as long as a CFL and 60 times as long as an incandescent bulb.

Although it will be some years before they are used to light up rooms, desk lamps and spotlights are already employing their efficient pinpoint beams. For the designer Oliver Heath's range, go to ecocentric.co.uk

Hope this helps - and yes, your local authority should have an environment/recycling team that can help you with queries about what you can/can't recycle. Or go to www.recyclenow.com

[Jane]

Thanks so much, eco worrier, for the comprehensive information. I've saved it in my household file.