PEOPLE in Tendring are being urged to shun an annual tradition in the name of the environment.

Roddy Ashworth

PEOPLE in Tendring are being urged to shun an annual tradition in the name of the environment.

Council bosses are encouraging people to show their green credentials by choosing an alternative to the chocolate Easter egg.

According to Tendring District Council, which runs rubbish-collecting services in the area, Easter eggs are one of the most over-packed products on the market and lead to a huge increase in waste material.

Now the authority is urging people to minimise the environmental impact by going for eggs with the least packaging - or even choose a different gift entirely.

Michael Talbot, portfolio holder for the environment, said: “If you want to stick with a chocolate egg then at least choose one that is only wrapped in foil.

“Many have a huge cardboard box, a plastic moulding as well as the shiny foil wrapping and literally thousands of tonnes of waste are created.

“If you do receive a heavily packaged product then at least make sure the cardboard box goes in the paper recycling.”

Mr Talbot said he was proud so many residents across Tendring had taken up the recycling message and showed they cared about the environment around them.

“I now hope they will want to do their bit for the environment over Easter - just as they do the rest of the year,” he added.

Around 80 million chocolate eggs were sold in the UK in 2007 costing �336million.

Two years ago a study carried out by Oxfordshire County Council revealed that some major brand Easter eggs sold on the high street had packaging weighing more than the confectionery it contained.