Recycling Conscious Ireland Set To Gorge On Chocolate And Meat On Good Friday.

Research by Repak has revealed that the people of Ireland are set for another feast of chocolate consumption, even if the chocolate egg doesn’t belong to them, over Easter 2016.

Ahead of the Easter and the Centenary celebrations, Repak is encouraging consumers to continue recycling their packaging waste over this indulgent time.

A Chocoholic Nation

This year Irish households are expected to generate over 19,650 tonnes of packaging waste over the Easter break. When it’s all opened and eaten we will have munched through an estimated 17.7 million Easter eggs (or an average of 8 per household) and consumers will have spent an estimated €38.5m over the Easter break.

Over Easter 2015, glass recycling increased by 10% with cardboard and paper levels also rising 2%.. Repak estimates that based on those figures, the people of Ireland will drink enough alcohol to fill six full size Olympic swimming pools.

Oh Lenten Vows Where Art Thou?

The Repak research, consisting of over 400 members of the public, also discovered that 67% of people don’t bother with lent anymore and 45% of people will be drinking alcohol and eating meat on Good Friday. Perhaps more bizarrely over half the people surveyed associate Easter 2016 with chocolate over the centenary celebrations for the 1916 Easter Rising. For those who did partake in lent, chocolate, sweets, pastries, takeaways and alcohol all topped the list of vices needing vanquishing.

No Control

Repak also discovered we are a nation chocolate thieves as 3 in 4 people admitted to eating a part of someone else’s Easter egg with over a third of people citing a lack of self-control as the reasoning behind their actions. While we are nation of impulsive chocolate thieves 3 in 5 of us will shell out up to €30 on Easter eggs for others to compensate for our actions this weekend.

#beagoodegg

The Repak research also found that over 85% of people clean all recycling material before putting it in the recycle bin and further 68% of people recycle all of their Easter egg packaging. Commenting on the statistics CEO of Repak, Seamus Clancy said: The Easter period is always a crucial time for recycling, and thanks to the support of our members and the public, last year we achieved a 71% packaging recycling rate.”

“We are delighted that many confectionery companies have been making continuous efforts to reduce their environmental impact by not only funding producer recycling schemes like Repak, but also by driving packaging reduction  initiatives on their confectionery products.They have reduced their packaging by over 25% over the last few years.”

He concluded: “This year we hope to achieve even better packaging recycling rates, so we would remind people not only to recycle their Easter egg gift packaging but all the other packaging that the festivities and family gatherings will generate such as plastic and glass bottles, food boxes, and aluminium.  As many people will travel for the holidays we urge them to visit Repak.ie to locate the nearest recycling facility or for more information on bring bank locations and recycling centres in their specific area.”