The Litter Project:

Huge thank you to Volunteers:
Malu Colorin, Aleena Wright, Louise Hutchinson and Aurelie Dee 
for all their help. 
Over Summer 2011 I put in motion 
a Project which focuses 
on reducing litter and 
encourages 
recycling in Leeds. 
An Installation has been 
created from the litter 
collected (and cleaned).
There are four sculptures.

Why This Project Started:
The images here were taken on WoodHouse Moor at about 6.30am after a sunny day.
This all gets cleared away before anyone can see just how much there is. 
The majority is recyclable.

Here's a LoveWhereYouLive article on the project with more information.
It was also featured on Recyclart.
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I aim to raise awareness of the fantastic recycling facilities in place in Leeds and to encourage people to dispose of their waste in a better way...
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Ben Fisher - University of Leeds Union Community Officer and 

Jo Johnson - Leeds Metropolitan University Union Assistant President Community Wellbeing have both assisted me with this project! 

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Fantastic Links Below:
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Follow #LitterProject on Twitter:
  • The installation will be shown in @LeedsUniUnion on October 6th! To get involved collecting and creating pop me a message. #LitterProject
  • I will be out with @BenFisher11 on tuesday, collecting litter to create an installation to encourage recycling. Want to help? #LitterProject
  • I will be collecting litter at @leedsmet freshers fairs to create an installation to encourage recycling. Want to help? #LitterProject
  • @McDonaldsCorp @GreggstheBakers and @kfc_colonel all actively encourage recycling. #LitterProject
  • @McDonaldsCorp is surveyed 'top littered fast food brand' at 29% with @GreggstheBakers 3rd at 18% and @kfc_colonel 4th at 8%. #LitterProject
  • Hello @LWYLengland! I am working with LeedsMet and Leeds Uni to collect Litter from freshers week and create an Installation. #LitterProject
  • On average, 16% of the money you spend on a product pays for the packaging, which ultimately ends up as rubbish. #LitterProject
  • Each year in Britain, we throw away and bury cans worth a total of £24 million - about 90 drinks cans per person. #LitterProject
  • About 1litre of oil is saved for every 4 bottles put in the bottlebank. Less heat energy is used recycling than making new. #LitterProject
  • It costs an estimated £342 million per year to clean up the 200 million cigarette butts thrown away every day by UK smokers. #LitterProject
  • It costs taxpayers more than £500m per year to clear the streets of England. That doesn't include parks or other public areas.#LitterProject
  • Today I will be tweeting some facts about litter. #LitterProject
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The Sculptures:
Aluminium: Recycling one aluminium can saves enough energy to light a 100watt bulb for four hours! In theory, if all the aluminium currently in circulation is recycled rather than taken to landfill, there'd be no need to make any more from raw material Bauxite. 
It only takes 6 weeks to recycle, re-manufacture and resell a drinks can!

This Aluminium metropolis is made up of two bin bags worth of used drinks cans.
Plastic: 25 recycled plastic bottles can make one fleece jacket. Which is much more useful than spending 500 years in landfill. The facts are everywhere. Plastic is not good, so the more we can recycle the less we have to make, saving money and reducing emissions! 
Alternatives are also there of course.. Use a flask instead of buying a bottle.. get hold of a canvas carrier bag for your supermarket shop...

This Plastic Sculpture is made out of four bin bags full of used plastic bottles and lids, and various carrier bags. 
Food Packaging: If it's recyclable, recycle it. If it's soiled, dispose of it properly. Empty food cartons on our streets and in our green spaces are a direct link to the rise in the rat population. Rats carry diseases. 
7 out of 10 items of litter are food related. 

This 5ft tall dog is called Domino. He's made out of about 150used pizza boxes (the greasy bits cut off).