How Easter treats can be more plastic than egg

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Some 80million Easter eggs will be eaten this weekend, for which we have paid around £336million.

But as you tear open the cardboard box, peel back the plastic shell and rip through the brightly coloured tin foil, you may feel you've bought more packaging than egg.

Reports suggest that, by volume, packaging can make up to 90 per cent of your Easter egg purchase, leaving behind a mountain of foil, cardboard and plastic.

This will generate around 160 tons of foil waste and 4,370 tons of cardboard. And it's not only packaging that you could be wasting.

A study by Friends of the Earth has revealed that for every £1 you spend on Easter eggs, you'll pay another £1 just for packaging. So a £5 egg contains just £2.50 worth of chocolate, and an extra £2.50 in cardboard and plastic.

An FoE spokesman said: "Opt for eggs wrapped in foil only, as this is recyclable, whereas plastic is not. If you can't say no to packaged eggs then use the plastic mould to create your own eggs next year."

So just how much packaging comes with your egg?

EIMEAR O'HAGAN and MISHAAL KHAN weighed and measured some of the top-selling eggs (above).

Galaxy The Ultimate Chocolate Indulgence egg Price: £6.99 Weight of chocolate: 14oz Weight of packaging: 5.5oz Box height: 14in Box width: 9in Box depth: 4.5in

Elizabeth Shaw milk chocolate eggs and campagne chocolate truffles

Price: £9.99 Weight of chocolate: 9oz Weight of packaging: 4oz Box height: 13in Box width: 8.5in Box depth: 4.5in

Celebrations milk chocolate egg and sweets

Price: £6.99 Weight of chocolate: 12oz Weight of packaging: 6oz Box height: 11in Box width: 10in Box depth: 4.5in

Lindt Lindor milk chocolate egg and truffles

Price: £9.99 Weight of chocolate: 12oz Weight of packaging: 7oz Box height: 15.5in Box width: 7.5in Box depth: 5in

Crunchie milk chocolate egg and six Crunchie bars

Price: £9.99 Weight of chocolate: 20.5oz Weight of packaging: 8.5oz Box height: 14in Box width: 11in Box depth: 5.5in

Maltesers milk chocolate egg and two tubes of Maltesters

Price: £6.99 Weight of chocolate: 13.5oz Weight of packaging: 6.5oz Box height: 14in Box width: 9.5in Box depth: 4in

Toblerone milk chocolate egg with assortment of milk chocolates

Price: £4.99 Weight of chocolate: 8oz Weight of packaging: 4oz Box height: 10.5in Box width: 9in Box depth: 4.5in