Be a good `green’ egg this Easter
An egg-citing Easter of baking could be an alternative to buying heavily packaged chocolate eggs from shops, which will this year create about 8,000 tonnes of waste.
Warwickshire County Council is calling on people to be good eggs and think of the environment when disposing of the packaging from Easter eggs.
Nationally about 80 million chocolate eggs will be sold in the UK this year, generating around 4,370 tonnes of card and 160 tonnes of foil waste. An average 200g chocolate egg comes with 54g card and 2g of foil – both of which could be recycled.
Cllr Martin Heatley, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for the Environment, said: “Most people love receiving chocolate eggs, but they usually come in lots of packaging. There are plenty of fun, family-friendly recipes, which can be given as gifts that result in less waste, which is how families used to celebrate Easter. And we should not forget the traditional Easter meal – if we shop carefully, buying foods in less packaging and enough for what we need, we can cook up a tasty meal without the waste.”
An example of how to cut down on Easter waste is making your own chocolate cake, shaped like an egg and decorated with Easter chicks from marzipan:
125g unsalted butter, softened
50g caster sugar
1tspn vanilla extract
125g self raising flour and 25g cocoa powder sifted together
25g chocolate chips
egg shaped pastry cutters
· Preheat the oven to 190C, gas mark 5.
· Place the butter in a bowl and beat in the sugar with a wooden spoon until the mixture is smooth.
· Add the vanilla extract and then slowly stir in the flour and cocoa powder.
· Divide the mixture into small balls and place onto two baking trays, allowing enough room for them to spread during cooking.
· Lightly press down and cut into shape, adding chocolate chips.
· Bake for about 10 to 12 minutes until light brown, remove from the oven and allow to cool.
Cllr Heatley added: “If you can’t say no to an Easter egg, remember it has never been easier to recycle. If you are unsure of what can be recycled, or where, just phone 01926 412458 and speak to your local recycling officer, or visit http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/waste to find out where you can recycle your card and foil!”