Pictured is an easter egg.

Easter eggs: hunting for a solution to excessive packaging

So which Easter tradition came first? The packaging or the egg? The answer is of course not that surprising (it’s the egg). The tradition of giving people eggs at spring time has roots in ancient pagan festivals and exists in the history of a range of religions.

It is only in recent decades that the amount of packaging around a hollow chocolate egg has become a noticeable problem – partly because of a rise in the number of eggs sold. It’s true that some manufacturers have made progress in reducing packaging, with a big focus on reducing plastics.

Many popular eggs are wrapped in just a layer of foil and a card box (plus any wrappers that come on accompanying confectionary). But this does not mean the problem has gone away.

A report by Which? revealed that around a quarter of the total weight of Easter eggs sold in the UK is taken up by the plastic and cardboard packaging they are wrapped up in. The outer packaging of one of the top-ten selling brands tipped the scales at 152g of a 418g product (36.4%).

Dr Elliot Woolley, of the School of Mechanical, Electrical and Manufacturing Engineering, explores the Easter egg issue in The Conversation and suggests creative ways manufacturers can avoid packaging waste.

Read the full article here.   

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