Local Competition Showcases Art Made with Recyclable Materials

Local high school students created works of art using recyclable materials, litter and discarded materials in the County Government’s first Recycled Art Contest. The top three winners, Katie Argueta, Rachel Reynolds and Margaret Fish, displayed their artwork at the annual Prince William County Recycles Day event held earlier this month at the landfill.

The art contest was sponsored by the Prince William County Environmental Management System Council.  High school students were challenged to express their artistic ability using recyclable materials that are eligible for recycling at Prince William County Landfill or with items that would be considered trash. Judges scored each entry based on use of recycled materials, creativity and originality, craftsmanship and aesthetic appeal. There were 39 entries in this year’s contest.

Argueta, a student at C. D. Hylton High School took top honors with, Innocence, a fascinating ballerina made of re-used wire, a plastic bag, newspaper, plastic straws, a Classico Pasta Sauce jar lid, beverage can tabs and an Arizona Iced Tea can tutu won first place.

The Cobra, crafted by Reynolds, a student at Brentsville District High School earned second place.  This striking piece was formed from newspaper and aluminum foil. Cardboard packing material was used to provide an intricate snakeskin, green broken glass was used for the eyes and worn down metal track spike fangs finished the piece. 

The third place winner, Asphyxiation, a powerful sculpture enter by Fish also a student at Brentsville District High School, was made of cigarette butts she found littering her neighborhood. Countless butts formed the hand of an avid smoker coming back from the grave. In her project explanation she writes, “Things like cigarette butts are bad for health and the environment.  Smoking has no positive outcome.” 

Although there were three winners, several other pieces were also noteworthy.  In fact, several of the judges noted a desire to display the artwork in their offices or homes.   For example, an eagle made of aluminum cans was coveted by a few of the judges that worked at the landfill because eagles are a relatively common, but awe-inspiring site at the landfill.  Another piece, Tedium, intricately made of wire was deemed perfect “for my mantel at home” by another judge.

One of the contest coordinators, Jennifer Boeder an Environmental Specialist in Risk Management, explained how the Council felt about the project, “This is the first year the Environmental Management System Council sponsored this contest, and we were excited by the tremendous response and truly amazed at the creativity of students.  When you look at the winning pieces, you see beautiful pieces of art. Only after studying them do you notice they are made of items that would normally be trash.” 

This contest served as a creative outlet and a learning tool.  It made the artists and the observers more aware of how many different materials and items are actually recyclable.  Although most people aren’t likely to engage in recycled art projects, we can all sort our waste and do a better job of recycling items that can be recycled.