Co-op ditches plastic from own-brand Easter egg range

The Co-op is removing plastic packaging from its own-brand Easter egg range.

The convenience retailer said the plans would remove 14 tonnes of unnecessary plastic from its stores, by eradicating the inner plastic packaging and windows from all five of its hollow Fairtrade Easter eggs.

The move is part of its wider commitment to make all of its own-brand packaging easily recyclable by the end of 2021.

“Easter egg packaging is renowned for its excessive use of unnecessary plastic, whether to protect the chocolate or to display the design of the confectionery,” said Co-op environment manager Iain Ferguson.

“Our teams have worked incredibly hard to deliver a new solution that ensures the egg is still protected whilst allowing our customers to see all the aspects of the eggs and their stunning designs. This is a really positive step within the packaging industry, especially for seasonal Easter lines.”

The Co-op currently uses almost 40% recycled content in own-brand packaging. Last year, the Co-op claimed to become the first retailer to switch all of its 500ml, 750ml, one-litre and two-litre own-brand still, sparkling and flavoured water, carbonated drinks and mixers to bottles made out of 100% recycled material, saving 1,400 tonnes of virgin plastic from being produced each year.

It also announced in November 2020 that it was to remove all plastic and glitter from its 2020 Christmas celebration range, cutting out 1.1 million pieces of plastic.

The convenience retailer has also set out to remove all plastic forks from its food-to-go ranges, saving 59 tonnes of plastic.

“To date, we have replaced over 7,000 tonnes of virgin plastic with recycled plastic in our own-brand packaging and we’re committed to eliminating all unrecyclable plastic,” added Ferguson.

“We’re pleased to confirm that we’re also on track to meet our target for all Co-op own-branded products to be easy to recycle this year.”

Co-op’s Fairtrade, own-brand Easter eggs launch in stores nationwide from 15 February 2021.

The range consists of Co-op Irresistible Hand-Finished Golden Praline Egg (300g/£8), Co-op Irresistible Extra Thick Valencia Orange Crunch Egg (220g/£6), Co-op Salted Caramel & Pretzel Belgian Milk Chocolate Loaded Egg (200g/£5), Co-op Golden Honeycomb Belgian Milk Chocolate Loaded Egg (200g/£5) and Co-op Free From Choc Easter Egg & Caramel Flavour Truffles (120g/£3.50).