Sustainable-packaging producer DS Smith has published tips for recycling festive debris this Easter after uncovering widespread confusion.
The London-headquartered firm said Brits would get through more than 120m chocolate eggs over the coming days.
But two-thirds of 2,000 people polled by the company said these were excessively packaged, while a third of those surveyed were confused about which elements could be recycled.
Samantha Upham, senior sustainability manager at DS Smith, said: “Chocolate eggs are a lovely part of Easter, with 165 of these treats consumed over the average Brit’s lifetime.
“While most of these eggs will be devoured on the day, the packaging they come in can have a much longer lifecycle.
“Decades of progress have had a huge impact on the amount we recycle, with paper and card the most widely recycled materials in the UK. But too much of it is still ending up in landfill and we need to challenge ourselves to do better.”
DS Smith called for people to separate cardboard, plastic and foil packaging and check for instructions on which materials could be recycled.
Creative reuse of elements for storage, crafts or wrapping gifts should be considered first, it added.
