The great Easter packaging eggstravaganza

Easter eggs are boxed in so much card and plastic that the packaging can weigh almost as much as the chocolate itself, research by The Independent shows.

Our survey of 10 popular eggs ranging from basic to luxury dark chocolate found that, by weight, they comprised between 26 and 45 per cent packaging. By volume the packaging could be 90 per cent of the product.

Britons are expected to eat 80 million eggs this Easter, 8 per cent of annual chocolate consumption, but campaigners are concerned that the £336m-a-year trade pays scant regard to the environment.

As part of its Campaign Against Waste, an attempt to highlight and stop the over-packaging of goods, The Independent assessed eggs by the likes of Nestlé, Green & Black's and Lindt. Ranging in price from 99p to £13.99, the eggs state only their weight in chocolate. By weighing both the chocolate and the packaging separately, Lindt, the Swiss chocolate-maker, was found to be the most heavily packaged Easter egg. For £9.99, customers buy chocolate weighing 300g, and plastic and card weighing 250g - 45 per cent of the item.

Duchy Originals, the organic brand owned by Prince of Wales, was the next most wasteful, with 44 per cent unnecessary packaging. More than one third of eggs for Green & Black's, another "ethical" brand, was waste. The least-packaged egg was made by Divine, who manufacture fair-trade chocolate.

In a separate study of 14 eggs, the Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson found that chocolate can represent just 9 per cent of the product's size. By volume the average Easter egg was 15 per cent chocolate.

The Women's Institute, which is taking a stand on consumer waste, has received many complaints about the presentation of seasonal products. Farah Nazeer, the WI head of public affairs, said: "Our members are disturbed that manufacturers are using this level of packaging to sell Easter eggs. They feel they should be selling them on other things, such as the quality of the egg. We understand the need for Easter eggs to look good but they would be attractive without that much packaging. In fact, most of our members tell us that they would find them more attractive if they had less packaging rather than being stuffed with plastic and cardboard."

Easter eggs are commonly wrapped in foil, plastic and card, which are often not collected by local authorities for recycling. Only one egg we checked had any recycled content.

Ms Swinson, who has tabled a Commons early day motion backing The Independent's campaign, said: "Easter eggs are some of the worst offenders for excess packaging. Packages are often unnecessarily large and use several layers of card, plastic and foil packaging." She said to some extent shoppers were "buying Easter eggs but paying for packaging". The East Dunbartonshire MP called on the Government to consider introducing binding cuts if a voluntary agreement failed.

The British Retail Consortium said: "An Easter egg is not just a piece of chocolate wrapped up. The presentation and the unwrapping is all part of the appeal." Although Duchy Originals has committed to reducing packaging, its marketing director Richard Hogg said the delicate nature of Easter eggs meant that they required "a certain amount of protective packaging".

The Recycle Now campaign said: "When buying chocolate eggs this Easter, we would encourage everyone to think about the packaging that comes with their egg but also what can be recycled."

Michael Warhurst, waste campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said: "All that packaging has to be made, which will have taken natural resources and will have to be transported. It does have an environmental impact."

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