London -- Excess packaging continues to be a problem across many products and is a continuing cause for concern. Easter eggs have typically been among the worst examples of packaging waste, but since the first of these annual reports in 2007, packaging efficiency has improved significantly. Luxury Easter eggs continue to use excessive plastic packaging the majority of which is difficult to recycle and ends up in landfill, says a new study on "Easter egg packaging: Annual progress report 2012".

As editor Jo Swinson, MP, underlines, a major concern of this year’s study is that recycling information is misleading and packaging remains inconsistently recyclable across local authorities. This leaves consumers unsure as to what they can and can't recycle, making it harder to do the right thing.

However, this year significantly more products specified whether their packaging material was made from recycled resources and how it could be recycled. Whilst only six out of ten products in 2011 provided detailed information on which packaging parts could be recycled, this year nine of the eleven contain this information. One egg, Baileys, failed to include any recycling or environmental information.

Top findings of the study are:

* The big three confectionery companies, Mars, Nestlé and Cadbury, have reduced packaging and eliminated plastic from their medium range Easter eggs thereby increasing recyclability and efficiency.
* However luxury eggs such as Thornton’s, Baileys, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer continue to rely heavily on plastic packaging, most of which will end up in landfill.
* Nine of the 11 products give information on which packaging parts can be recycled and how, up from six in the previous year.

The full report showing progress of confectionery companies concerning recycling information can be downloaded from joswinson.org.uk.

Quelle: Jo Swinson, MP

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