Waste Monster

There are many ways to tackle the problem of excess packaging. One radical measure, proposed by environment minister Ben Bradshaw, encourages shoppers to leave all their unwanted packaging at the supermarket checkouts.

There are also however simple measures such as just buying as many loose produce as we can. Packaging costs an average household in the UK around £470 a year.

To highlight these issues Caroline Fish, Waste Officer at Suffolk County Council designed and built the Packasauros Ex - an horrendous creature made from all sorts of packaging and carrier bags collected by members of the council over the past few months from their everyday lives.

The packaging monster is more than 2 metres high and 2 metres long. The skeleton of the beast was constructed from discarded wood and the flesh consists of all sorts of boxes, cartons, plastic and carrier bags - anything which constitutes modern packaging.

The end result is very alluring and colourful, and this highlights why for us consumers packaging poses such a dilemma. We all want to buy products that look attractive but don’t always think of the environmental consequences.

The monster, which looks like a long legged dinosaur, has come to be known as Expak and has visited towns across the county with the Suffolk County Council Waste Communications team. Stickers have been given out to adults and children who want to support the campaign and spread the word, with the strap line ‘make this monster extinct’. It is evident from the public’s reaction to the monster that this is one dinosaur they would really like to see the back of.