trash art

Winners of the 2021 Trash Art Contest express impacts on the environment through written and sculpted art pieces.

Garbage may not be the most ideal art material, but it combines conservation and art creation to achieve profound results.

This can be seen firsthand in the submissions from this year’s art contest.  From a one-act play about a sustainably-minded couple to a net made from plastic envelopes, each art piece shows how art can shift perceptions of waste.

UW Recycling is excited to host another Trash Art Contest for 2021!  The contest is part of this year's Campus Race to Zero Waste (previously RecycleMania).

As part of RecycleMania, UW Recycling hosted a Trash Art Contest where UW students and staff submitted art pieces made of trash, recyclable and salvage materials. Three winners were chosen based on the criteria of: originality/creativity, theme of sustainability, material usage and relevance to personal and/or UW campus waste.

This 2020 contest has now ended. See the winners here, or learn about the 2021 contest here.

UW Recycling is holding a Trash Art Contest in March, with $150 in gift cards to be awarded to the winners.