To cut down on household waste produced over the Easter period, many councils are reminding residents about Easter recycling.
Sharing some helpful tips about recycling Easter egg wrappers on its website, the South Australian government suggests rinsing foil wrapping before placing in the recycling bin. “If it’s got chocolate on it, rinse it off first and if it’s still too dirty then it’s better in the waste bin.”
Individual Easter egg wrappers are too small to be thrown in the recycling bin however.
The SA government recommends that you gather enough foil wrappers to scrunch into a fist-sized ball before place in recycling bin to ensure that the machinery can process it.
“The best way to recycle Easter egg foil is to scrunch the foil up into a small fist-sized ball before placing it in the recycling bin. This makes sure the small bits of foil don’t get lost in the recycling process.”
Aluminium recycling is seen as a closed-loop process because there is no limit to the number of times aluminium can be recycled. According to the Australian Aluminium Council, approximately 75% of all aluminium ever produced is still in use today.
Less energy is required to recycle aluminium than it is mine and process the principle raw material, bauxite ore. Recycling aluminium saves roughly 90% to 95% of the energy need for production, and unlike plastic, doesn’t degrade in the recycling process, making aluminium infinitely recyclable and one of the most recycled materials in the world.
Some Easter eggs also come in cardboard, soft plastic or hard plastic packaging that can also be recycled.
In Australia, soft plastic packaging can be placed in the REDcycle bins located at hundreds of Coles and Woolworths stores.
The City of Sydney council advises that hard plastic packaging and cardboard can be placed in kerbside recycling bins. Residents are encouraged to check with their local council as to the types of plastics that are recyclable.
With Australians generating 75.8 million tonnes of solid waste annually and 300 million chocolate eggs produced each year, recycling will go a long way to reducing the packaging waste that ends up in Australian landfills.