World Chocolate Day: How to recycle your chocolate packaging 

Millions around the world enjoy their favourite chocolate bar without a second thought of the amount of waste to which they’re contributing – it’s a single-use plastic nightmare!

The cocoa industry emits over 2 million tonnes of greenhouse gases every year. With over 1000 litres of water required to process the ingredients necessary for a standard bar of chocolate¹.

One of Britain’s top waste and recycling companies, businesswaste.co.uk estimates that over 7 million metric tonnes of chocolate packaging end up in landfill every year.

This World Chocolate Day 7^th July, BusinessWaste.co.uk have put together helpful tips to help you to recycle your chocolate packaging:

1. Make sure the packaging is clean

Any packaging that is going to be recycled needs to be clean from food and washed out. Also, squash any plastic and cardboard into a flat shop ready for the weekly bin collection.

2. Recycle the foil

Chocolate foul wrapping (including coins) can be recycled. A simple way to test if a material is recyclable foil is to do the ‘scrunch test’. If it stays ‘scrunched’ then its aluminum foil and can be recycled.

3. Reuse old chocolate boxes

Use boxes for storing craft, office, and jewellery supplies. Boxes with individual compartments are great for storing jewellery or craft supplies such as beads, buttons, pins and screws. Or you could make your own chocolates and reuse them again for a special gift.

4. Recycle plastic moulds

Plastic moulds that are used to protect the chocolate can be recycled as long as they are made from PET, the same plastic that is used to make plastic bottles. Just make sure they are clean, as that will make them easier to recycle.

5. Choose sustainable chocolate

Cut down on waste by choosing chocolate with minimal packaging, there are brands out there that get cocoa beans that are plucked from organic trees, use less water and are wrapped in recycled packaging. Make sure you do your research next time you go to buy a bar!

Mark Hall, co-founder of BusinessWaste.co.uk comments on chocolate packaging waste, “chocolate creates a frightening amount of packaging that ends up in landfill every year, with retailers not doing enough to make packaging more recyclable. We hope that our top tips help Brits to do their bit to recycle their chocolate packaging and to save it from going to landfill.”