© irene waters 2016
The decorations made out of plastic milk bottles and are beautiful but Paula’s prompt Recycled could not have come at a more topical time for Australia. Our waste collection is under threat of stopping altogether as it has become unprofitable for the waste companies to collect the refuse. After thirty years of separating our waste into recycle, green and general a decision by China to stop buying our recycling waste has thrown the industry into a sudden downward spiral.
© irene waters 2016
Australia produces around 2.7 tonnes of waste per person per year and 60% of that is recyclable. Waste companies have been stockpiling this waste hoping for a solution that will see them paid prices that will make it profitable to collect from the kerbside. Heavens forbid that we lose our garbage collection. I can see the piles mounting in my mind. Perhaps we have to be pleased that artists sometimes use recycled material.
© irene waters 2018
Such as this door to a wood workers facility.
© irene waters 2017
© irene waters 2016
and dresses made from plastic bags (soon to be banned altogether in Queensland).
© irene waters 2016
© irene waters 2016
© irene waters 2016
© irene waters 2016
© irene waters 2016
© irene waters 2018
This sculpture was made from bike frames, fans, exhaust pipes, fire braziers and push bike – a friendly critter formed.
© irene waters 2018
My favourite used only newspaper. Each day for a year after reading the newspaper, the artist reflected on the stories and chose problems. He would then do a sculpture with the remainder of the newspaper then glue the story on the outside of this. After one year he looked at these problems and spent a year coming up with a solution to each of them which he sculpted out of paper and inscribed a phrase on each one. I wonder how he would have solved our problem of waste.
© irene waters 2018
An aboriginal artist Gunybi Gananbarr used an old conveyor belt to affix sand and natural pigments from his land to emphasise clan designs which are full of metaphors and layers of meaning.
© irene waters 2018
Sometimes recycling is not art but the only way you can get a pair of sturdy shoes, using old tyres.
Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist) 
What amazing objects creative people devise. Just wonderful. I’m hoping entrepreneurs will quickly establish recycling plants here in Australia, I’m already able to buy garden stakes made from recycled plastic.
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I hope so but of course it all boils down to economics and I think if they do our garbage rates will go up accordingly.
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Companies in the US are making patios and decks out of pressed plastic “lumber” and it’s attractive and durable. As for the garbage companies, in Hancock, we have to purchase our city garbage bags for collection (in addition to paying for the curbside service). We sort recyclables, return glass bottles for a deposit and compost. I like the artistic solutions to recycling, but hope you don’t lose garbage collection because there will yet be garbage!
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I have a feeling that it may be a service that the government is going to have to take over running and then as taxpayers we will pay. Although in the news it has been suggested that due to the costs the men will find it is not profitable enough to continue but I just can’t see it being allowed to happen. We have the plastic lumber but I believe all our recycled plastic comes from China and they have closed down those factories. It will be interesting to see if we take it on ourselves because as you say – there will yet be garbage.
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Who knows, maybe we’ll all be sending our garbage to Australia! And I don’t mean that in a bad way, but if it’s an opportunity for recycling innovation maybe good can come out of it.
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LOL. I doubt it somehow – our labour isn’t cheap enough. Lets hope innovative ways are found to deal with it.
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Can we learn to live producing less waste? I love the plastic wedding dress LOL!
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I went paleo diet for a year and in that year my waste went down significantly. I think we could limit our garbage but perhaps not in entirety.
If it was a hot day the bride would lose a fair bit of weight wrapped in all that plastic.
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