Wraps come off packaging problem

WE MAY be foundering in an ocean of debt, the economy spluttering and our prospects dire. But never let it be said that our MPs are not wrestling with the big issues. And for Jo Swinson, Liberal Democrat MP for East Dunbartonshire, they don't come much bigger than Easter eggs. In fact, it's not that Easter eggs are too small in her opinion, but that the wrapping around them is too big.

She is urging, yes, tougher regulation, to curb those manufacturers who wrap their chocolate in vast swathes of cardboard and plastic. She cited one case where the Easter egg offer was 90 per cent wrapping. An Easter egg survey produced by Ms Swinson shows Guylian's Easter egg is the worst offender, with a chocolate egg which takes up only 9 per cent of its box. Sainsbury's came top in terms of least wasteful packaging, while Nestl was commended for producing an egg packaged in 100 per cent recyclable materials.

Wasteful packaging is the scourge of modern life. It can even affect the world of politics. Large sums are spent on leader speeches at party conferences only for the content to be most disappointing. In the matter of Easter eggs, Ms Swinson may only have half opened the door of criticism. It cannot be long before the Health Advisory Council weighs in with sonorous warnings on the dangers of the chocolate egg itself – which may render the wrapping a wicked accomplice.