Here's How You Can Mindfully Dispose of All Your Leftover Easter Eggs
Apr. 13 2020, Updated 5:09 p.m. ET
The annual Easter egg hunt is an undeniably fun holiday tradition, but at the end of the day, you're left with massive amounts of discarded plastic waste. And unless you're mentally prepared to store hundreds of plastic eggs in your attic until next spring (and if you can — go for it!), there's a relatively likely chance you're looking to get rid of the colorful casings in the most sustainable manner possible.
Can you recycle Easter eggs, or are they non-recyclable? Stay tuned for everything you need to know regarding mindful disposal of the festive Easter staples.
Are plastic Easter eggs recyclable?
As you may know, recycling practices differ by town and city, and those plastic Easter eggs definitely aren't recyclable everywhere. According to Lincoln California Recycling and Garbage, they cannot be recycled in the Sacramento area. However, according to KFVS 12 in Jackson, Miss., they are placed in the 3-7 bin at the Jackson Recycling Center. The material is then shipped overseas to be reused.
Before haphazardly tossing your Easter eggs in the recycling bin, look for a recycling symbol or number on the egg or its packaging, and look it up to see if the material is locally recyclable. If your municipality lists small or thin plastics, such as bottle caps or clamshell containers, they are most likely fine, but if not, it's best to toss them in the garbage. Keep in mind it's best to follow your municipality's recycling rules instead of trying to recycle something non-recyclable.
Plastic eggs aren't sustainable in the first place — if you already bought them, re-use or donate them.
The production and shipping of plastic Easter eggs is not sustainable, to say the least — after they're produced in China-based factories, they are shipped to the U.S., which creates a massive carbon footprint to begin with, according to Summit Daily. Most eggs contain BPA as well as lead paint, which are both harmful chemicals to the environment, as well as our water sources, and like we said, they aren't widely recyclable.
If you've already bought Easter eggs, however, you should definitely consider donating them to your local consignment store, for someone else to use, or you can simply keep them for next year. PopSugar also came up with a number of ways to reuse Easter eggs for DIY crafts — from string lights, to planters, ornaments, and maracas, there are so many different ways you can upcycle them.
Are real eggs compostable if they're painted with food dye?
In addition to celebrating Easter with a good, old-fashioned egg hunt, a popular tradition is painting eggs with food dye... and if you want to do it mindfully, you'll dispose of your discarded egg shells in the compost bin. Egg shells are completely compostable — even if you painted them with food dye — so after you've eaten the hardboiled egg, or given it to someone who will, you can toss the remnants in the compost.
Composting is pretty much the same in every setting, regardless of where you live, so if you already have a bin or a compost in your backyard, you're basically set.
Easter is an undeniably fun holiday, but remember to celebrate mindfully, and re-use what you can. The Easter bunnies of the future are counting on you.
