6 Tips for An Eco-Friendly Easter Weekend

Easter is just around the corner and there are many different ways in which you can celebrate it. From Easter egg hunts and roast dinners to composting food and reusing Easter baskets, there are several eco-friendly things you can do this Easter that still means that you can have fun. Just because you’re trying to be more sustainable this Easter, it doesn’t mean that you have to forgo everything that makes the season enjoyable. However, despite common belief, Easter can actually generate quite a lot of waste over the course of the season.

According to Business Waste, 9,600 tonnes of cardboard waste is created as a result of Easter cards, egg boxes and other associated packaging. The waste generation doesn’t stop with cardboard, either. In fact, around 4,000 tonnes of plastic waste is produced at Easter also. After looking closely at these statistics, it’s no wonder that more people than ever before are looking to be more sustainable this Easter. With this in mind, let’s dive into some hints and tips for having a fun-yet-eco-friendly Easter weekend:

1. Buy Fair Trade chocolate Easter eggs & choose ones that come with less packaging

You might not think that buying Fair Trade chocolate is eco-friendly, but it has more benefits to the planet than you might have otherwise thought. It means that the chocolate you’re buying has been made with the best ingredients and has been grown locally and responsibly. It also ensures fair wages and treatment of farmers, so you’re doing your bit both when it comes to ethics and sustainability.

In addition, you should also look to purchase Easter eggs that come with as little packaging as possible. However, this can be quite challenging, depending on where it is you’re buying your Easter eggs from. If you’re finding it difficult to find Easter eggs with very little packaging then, at least, choose to buy an Easter egg that’s packaged in cardboard and other recyclable materials.

2. Reuse bonnets, buckets & baskets for Easter egg hunts, or buy them second-hand

Easter bonnets might well be a thing of the past, but if your child has come home looking to wear an Easter bonnet to school that you need to make, then look through the local charity shops before buying one brand new. It might also be worthwhile checking the loft for something that you may have had when you were a child. It’s amazing what some faux Easter chicks and tiny wooden speckled eggs can do when stuck securely to an old straw hat.

Moving on from Easter bonnets, if you’re looking to hold an Easter egg hunt, you should find some second-hand buckets and baskets to use. The last thing you should do if you want to be sustainable is to refrain from buying anything brand new. If you can’t find anything in the local charity shops, then ask around your family and friends. There’s bound to be someone around who will have some baskets and buckets that you can utilise for one day of the year.

3. Decorate eggs with natural paints & dyes

Painting eggs is a popular activity at Easter. But you need to make sure that you’re painting and dyeing them with natural substances. This is because, if you’re looking to compost your egg shells afterwards, it can contaminate your compost and then you won’t be able to use it on any of your planets or flowers. The same goes for if you’re looking to place the eggs in the food waste bin that was given to you by your Local Authority.

It will contaminate the rest of the food waste and the council then will not be able to do with it what they will. As such, you should choose natural dyes and paints to ensure that it’s not contaminating any food waste or compost. Just because the paint that you would normally use may contaminate your waste doesn’t mean to say that you can’t enjoy painting eggs as a fun and enjoyable Easter activity.

4. Source your Easter food locally

Easter is the perfect excuse for family and friends to get together, and that includes getting everyone around the dinner table for a delicious and nutritious roast dinner. If this is something that you’re organising, make sure you’re buying all of the ingredients from a local farm shop or another local business, such as a green grocer or a butcher.

Not only is this helping to support independent businesses in the area, but it also means that you’re travelling less of a distance to buy your food. In addition, it also means that the food you’re buying doesn’t have many air miles associated with it. Not only does this make for a fresh and tasty roast dinner at Easter, but it also helps to reduce your carbon footprint.

5. Compost your leftover egg shells

We’ve already touched on this briefly, but it doesn’t just go for egg shells. Once you’ve finished with them, put them in the compost bin or in the food waste bin provided to you by the council. You should aim to do this for all of the food that you make at Easter. From leftover vegetables to the tea bags you use in the morning, put everything in the compost bin if you’re wanting to be as sustainable as possible. Also, when it comes to food waste reduction, look to make new dishes from the leftover roast dinner ingredients, like Bubble and Squeak, for instance. You could also use leftover meats in sandwiches if you want to make full use of it all.

6. Buy Easter supplies in recyclable packaging

We’ve already discussed the idea of buying Easter eggs in recyclable packaging, but that doesn’t just go for chocolate Easter eggs. It also involves the supplies you buy that allows you to have a great Easter weekend, such as your eggs (which you can buy from a local farm shop), the dyes you use to decorate your eggs, your Easter bonnets, Easter baskets and other things.

Preferably, you should look to buy second-hand wherever possible. But it can be a challenging task, so if you have to buy something that’s brand new, you should make sure it has as little packaging on it as possible, and it needs to be recyclable if it does come with packaging.