Local MP Andrew Stunnell warns industry progress on reducing waste has stalled as Easter egg makers are failing to slim down packaging.
Confectioners have been urged to refresh their efforts to reduce excess packaging encasing chocolate Easter eggs, after a new report found progress appeared to have stalled this year.
Andrew Stunnell, the Liberal Democrat MP for Hazel Grove, yesterday unveiled a study analysing the packaging content and recycling information on Easter eggs by leading retailers and confectioners.
Stunnell found the big three confectioners, Mars, Nestle and Cadbury this year used widely recyclable cardboard materials for the majority of their packaging, although luxury eggs such as Thorntons, Lindt, and Marks & Spencer relied heavily on plastic packaging, which is less easily recyclable.
Six out of the eight products examined gave clear information about which packaging parts could be recycled, but Cadbury and Green & Black’s only offered limited directions to consumers.
Overall, Stunnell said industry progress had been disappointing since 2012, adding that despite significant improvements in previous years, efforts to reduce packaging and waste sent to landfill had stagnated.
The report tracked progress of the confectioners over six years, using previous studies by Jo Swinson MP. She passed the campaign to Stunnell after becoming Junior Equalities Minister last autumn.
This year’s report was particularly critical of Sainsbury’s, which appeared to have reduced the recyclable content of its packaging from 21 per cent last year, to zero per cent this year, after replacing a card insert with a plastic one.
However Sainsbury’s argued that it had increased the recycled content in the plastic from 50 per cent to 70 per cent.
“Clearly more pressure is needed to encourage the use of widely recyclable materials if we seriously want to make a significant reduction in our country’s landfill waste and to lead the way to a more eco-friendly future,” said Stunnell.
In response to the accusations, the companies said they were taking long-term steps to reduce the volume of packaging across a range of products.
Marks and Spencer and Cadbury both said they had reduced packaging significantly in previous years and now maintained an optimal weight.
Thorntons said it expected to make modest packaging savings for the 2013 season, with new pack formats and 50 per cent recycled content in all the plastic used, while Green & Black’s said it was researching the best ways to reduce packaging further.
Source: http://www.businessgreen.com