Nestle Ireland is the first major confectioner to announce its entire Easter egg packaging is 100% recyclable by replacing rigid plastic with cardboard in its mug eggs. With Easter eggs creating 375,000 kilos of waste in Ireland each year, the manufacturer of Smarties, Kit Kat and Aero Easter eggs, has become the first major confectioner to remove plastic packaging from all its eggs – the culmination of a six year process that has saved 726 tonnes of plastic waste going to landfill per year.
The last products to become 100% recyclable were the Yorkie, Munchies and Kit Kat Easter eggs which include a branded mug. The plastic used to secure the mug and egg has been replaced with recyclable cardboard certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and a compostable film for the windows resulting in a 30% reduction in packaging in the mug eggs. In 2011, 100 tonnes of plastic was removed across the entire range in the UK and Ireland.