The long Easter bank holiday weekend is a great opportunity to spend quality time with friends and family, probably eat a bit of chocolate, and (hopefully!) see some sunshine. Chocolate eggs are a key element of celebrations, with Easter egg hunts taking place up and down the country, but did you know that around a quarter of the weight of the eggs we buy is the packaging itself? Or that over 8,000 tonnes of egg packaging, including plastic, is thrown away each year in the UK? If you’d like to know how you can celebrate more sustainably, take a look at our ideas below. We know that not everyone will celebrate Easter so we hope you can take away our sustainable tips and apply them to any time of year, and any celebration.
Avoid decorations that you won’t use again. Lots of shops are busy selling cute Easter decorations, embellished with chicks, flowers, and eggs, perfect for the season, however consider if you will re-use these next year before purchasing. This will help reduce waste going to landfill. If you do fancy getting your home into the Easter spirit, consider charity shops and second-hand sites to avoid giving to larger corporations who tend to have a more negative environmental impact.
Donate items that you no longer want. If you have any old decorations or Easter-related items that you don’t want, make sure to donate them or recycle them appropriately to reduce landfill waste or brighten someone’s day when they are next browsing the local charity shop! Around 3,000 tonnes of Easter egg chocolate are thrown away each year, so if you have unwanted chocolate after Easter, donate it to a foodbank instead of throwing it away.
Make your own decorations. Instead of buying items and decorations for Easter, consider getting crafty instead. This could be a really fun activity for the whole family! You could use reusable or recyclable materials like cardboard to create hens, chicks, bunnies, and other classic Easter motifs and characters to decorate your home. No landfill waste, but plenty of fun!
Look for more sustainable chocolate options. Easter eggs are a popular way to celebrate, however, as aforementioned, they use a lot of plastic packaging, so, if you are able, consider shopping around for vegan or Fair Trade options or eggs with recyclable or compostable packaging to reduce environmental impact. You can apply this tip to food shopping for any celebration - you never know what you’ll find!
Support small and local businesses. Supporting small businesses instead of larger corporations helps reduce negative environmental impact, keeps vibrant high streets alive, and might allow you to find more unique items, so if you can shop in businesses like these, take a look!
We hope our tips are useful ahead of this weekend! If you have any ideas about keeping celebrations like this sustainable, please let us know below.