Giant plastic sculpture erected in Birmingham to represent waste problem
A sculpture made of plastic waste and measuring over eight feet has been placed in Birmingham city centre.
The sculpture, which has been commissioned by the cleaning brand smol, is made out of 3,229 empty, plastic laundry detergent packages, representing the amount that goes unrecycled in the city each day.
'Sick of Plastic' is a collaboration between eco-friendly cleaning product smol and Midlands artist Sarah Turner, and features a washing machine 'vomiting' thousands of pieces of laundry plastic to bring attention to the daily amount that ends up unrecycled, and incinerated or in landfill, from Birmingham households.
Smol's research found that, in the UK, 110 million plastic laundry packs are sold every year with only 12 per cent being recycled.
The sculpture will also support the charity Surfers Against Sewage to tackle plastic waste in Birmingham.
It has now been erected outside Birmingham library and stand until 6pm. Meanwhile, smol will be giving away plastic-free laundry packs, which are in limited supply, and discount codes for their products.
Hilary Strong, CMO of smol said: "People are well aware of the need to reduce their plastic waste, but few dwell on laundry – one of those things that we all have to buy and use, and a huge generator of single-use plastic waste. If the people of Birmingham alone made the switch to plastic-free, we'd prevent over 1 million plastic laundry packs ending up in landfill every single year.
"The creation of this sculpture is a bold statement about our commitment to the environment and our belief that with just small changes like switching brand, we can all make a difference. We hope that it will inspire others to join us in the fight against plastic waste."
