Following the idea of using art against plastic in the initiative “Plasti?e hay?r!!“, supported by BeMed, students of the metal sculpture section of the Art School of Trakya University and their teacher Firat Ulysal, made a fish-shaped metal sculpture to be used as a sorting bin for recyclable plastic. The sculpture is made from pieces of metal recovered in the industrial area of Edirne, Turkey.
Symbolically, plastic wastes are thrown into the fish mouth while an informational panel placed next to the sculpture explains how plastic pollution threatens fish and their ecosystem, and how one can take action in his or her everyday life. The purpose of this sculpture is to raise people’s awareness on the plastic pollution problem and to encourage them to use alternatives. This fish is the first of a series of artistic sorting bins, made from recycled materials and shaped like animals threatened by plastic pollution.
The sculpture has already aroused interest among the public and local organisations for just one week after its installation on the campus of Trakya University, another municipality has shown interest in replicating the initiative. Begoña Rodriguez Rueda, project manager of the “Plasti?e hay?r” initiative, is very optimistic and hopes that “passers-by and users will understand the problem and that one day these sculptures will be no more than a reminder of an old pollution.”.
The fight does not stop there for the University of Trakya, which is awaiting the installation of water fountains on campus to minimize the use of plastic water bottles.
Mrs Begoña Rodriguez Rueda, project manager of the Plasti?e hay?r initiative (aliotxa@gmail.com)
Mrs Lucile Courtial, BeMed coordinator (contact@beyondplasticmed.org)
