It’s that time of year again to dig through the trash can and create some art. The “Art of Recycling” contest, put on by SMU’s Sustainability Committee, is challenging SMU students, faculty and staff to create their best work of art using goods that would otherwise be garbage.
Entries to the contest are expected to be at least 75 percent reused materials that would otherwise end up in a dumpster.
“When searching for medium for your art piece, look around at everyday items that we have in abundance and think ‘What can that become?,'” Kelly Milazzo, the member of the Sustainability Committee who is organizing the competition, said.
Judges will analyze the art projects based on their overall appearance, theme and how well recycled materials were used in the creation of the project.
The only requirement is that the piece of art is not larger than 3 feet by 3 feet and must include a brief description of the materials that were used to make it.
Entries must be submitted by noon March 21 on the first floor of the Laura Lee Blanton building.
The winner of “Art of Recycling” will take home a brand new 18-speed mountain bike.
Some of the most notable entries in previous years have included a piece of artwork shaped like a smiling face using only pieces of scrap wood and boards that the artist found in a campus trash bin.
“The best use of recycled materials that I have seen to date was a curtain made out of old CDs,” Milazzo said.
The eco-friendly event is organized to support SMU’s participation in the nationwide RecycleMania competition.
RecycleMania is an eight-week competition for college and university recycling programs to promote recycling.
All participating schools across the United States and Canada are required to report their weekly recycling intake and will be ranked in various categories every week until March 31.
RecycleMania is a non-profit organization that is sponsored by both the student Environmental Society and the SMU Sustainability Committee.
The recycling competition began in January 2001 as a challenge between Ohio University and Miami University to promote recycling on campus, and it has grown an incredible amount since then.
Last year alone, 6.3 million people from 630 colleges around North America recycled 91 million pounds of materials during the competition.
The Grand Champion winner of the RecycleMania competition for the past two years has been California State University-San Marcos.
The SMU Sustainability Committee is a group of faculty, students and staff who promote sustainability and increased environmental awareness around campus.
