How to recycle your Easter egg packaging, foil, chocolate wrappers and other items
Easter can be fun time for all family with many people exchanging gifts, particularly chocolate eggs and other chocolate items.
With such gifts there can be a lot of packaging and it's really important for the environment that you try to re-use as much as possible, and if you can't, know how to recycle it correctly. For information on other, non-Easter items check out our A-Z recycling index and find out what happens to your recycling on this webpage.
Below is a list of common items at Easter time and information which bins/boxes they should go in.
Clear plastic Easter egg containers
Should go in the glass/cans/plastic recycling (small green bin/black box).
The foil which chocolate eggs are wrapped in
Most Easter eggs are wrapped in foil, which is widely recycled in the UK and can go in the glass/cans/plastic recyclingcontainer (small green bin/black box). Try to scrunch it up into a ball and make sure it's not covered in chocolate or it might not be able to be recycled.
Creme Egg foil wrappers (and similar) can go in the glass/cans/plastic recycling container (small green bin/black box).
Cardboard boxes eggs come in
They should be put in the paper/card recycling but please remove any plastic 'windows' from the box.
Easter cards
These can be put in your paper/card bin/box - however, remove any areas which are covered in glitter/plastic or other decoration.
Chocolate bar wrappers
There are many types of wrappers that chocolate bars come in, some are recyclable in our kerbside service, some aren't.
- Chocolate that is covered completely in foil and stays scrunched when you scrunch it up can be recycled in your glass/cans/plastic container (small green bin/black box)
- Wrappers that are shiny plastic and sometimes have foil on one side (such as a Crunchie or Galaxy bar) should not be put in the kerbside recycling containers, and should go in your household waste bin.
See our recycling A-Z guide for alternative ways to recycle chocolate bar wrappers.
How to re-use the plastic
There are also some great ways which you can re-use the plastic packaging from Easter eggs. There are some useful guides available online as to what you can turn that packaging into:
5 ways to reuse Easter egg plastic packaging
Here's a fun way to re-use the plastic shell
Other ways to recycle in Allerdale
The council also operates a number of ‘bring sites’ or small recycling centres across the borough for use by residents. Although these can take can take glass, cans and plastics as well as paper and card, please do not leave larger items like white goods at the sites. Also, if the recycling banks are full please do not leave items on the ground, this is classed as fly-tipping. Please take the items home and recycle them at a later date when there is room.
The bring sites should not be used for business waste. The council provides a competitive trade waste service to businesses.
Cumbria County Council operates a number of Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs), including in Wigton, Workington and Maryport.
