Like so many festive occasions, Easter has been commandeered by commercialism, and that means a lot of wanton consumerism, wasteful disposability, unethical manufacturing, and unhealthy eating. None of this is friendly to the environment (let alone to your wallet or waist! But there are simple things you can do to minimise waste and destruction. Here are just a few:
Recycle foil wrappers
Most of the foil that wraps chocolate Easter eggs is aluminium and completely recyclable. Before you toss those foil wrappers into the yellow bin, make sure you’ve got a bunch of them and roll them into a ball the size of a fist or bigger. Smaller pieces won’t get picked up by the sorting machines and may actually cause problems.
Buy Fair Trade or organic chocolate
Bulk, commercially produced chocolate uses synthetic ingredients, unsustainable processes, and often involves exploitation of workers. There’s a lot of good quality, Fair Trade chocolate available in health food stores, specialist shops, and even in major supermarkets. Organic and home-made chocolates purchased from growers/artisan markets or directly from the maker are more likely to include natural ingredients. They may be a little more expensive, but they are usually richer and more satisfying, and you know your money is going to a good place – and not to your waist.
The same goes for hot cross buns and other Easter treats.
Do it yourself
The tradition of boiling eggs and dying them with natural colouring is not only quaint and nostalgic, it’s cheaper, healthier, and more eco-friendly. They also won’t be ransacked by ants when hidden in the garden for an egg hunt. On that subject, there’s not need to buy plastic baskets or other paraphernalia for an egg hunt. You can set the kids a pre-Easter project of painting empty egg cartons or small boxes, or be inventive and use unusual receptacles like hats, sacks, bowls, cloth bags etc.

Remember, Easter should be spent celebrating with family and friends and not worrying needlessly about material things.
So hop to it and have a happy and safe Easter!

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