Trash to Treasure Recycled Art Project

About the Program

Category: Arts, Culture and Historic Preservation

Year: 2023

Littering is a critical and global issue in the health of the environment.  Every hour, people throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles.  At least 14 million tons of plastic is dumped in the ocean every year and it takes an average of 500 years for a plastic bottle to biodegrade.

The Trash to Treasure Recycled Art Project was inspired by these environmental issues.  The project was designed to foster awareness and facilitate new attitudes and behaviors towards littering and recycling.  The goal of the project is to actively engage people of all ages and demonstrate ways trash can be transformed into beautiful, imaginative and captivating art. This project is a perfect example of “leveraging the arts to improve residents’ quality of life and address challenges that communities face.”

The Union County Board of County Commissioners offered a unique and innovative program to the public. A permanent, educational resource was created which can be accessed and utilized by diverse communities within Union County and beyond.  Seventeen different wildlife art sculptures were created using litter as the key component. Each art piece is a colorful and unique representation of wildlife, fabricated from hundreds of hand-painted used plastic bottles. Over 4,000 plastic water and soda bottles were reused for the project.  This educational art exhibit became multi-dimensional, as each sculpture is accompanied by an educational sign highlighting wildlife facts, key statistics about litter and recycling and how many plastic bottles were repurposed for each sculpture.

The positive outcome has been measured by its popularity and accessibility. For over two years, the project was successful in reaching over 10,000 people in diverse communities.  In addition, the project has been positively acknowledged for “success in reaching its goals,” with a state award from the New Jersey Clean Communities Council. Trailside Nature & Science Center, a facility of the Union County Department of Parks & Recreation, received the 2023 Excellence in Education Award during their “Sustainability in Motion” conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey.