Trash is a human invention. It is a concept that is foreign to the natural world, and a fairly modern one. Today’s complex materials and mass production have given way to products and packaging designed for single-use. These developments have made our lives more convenient and products more affordable, but most of the resulting waste isn’t accepted by public recycling systems and ends up as garbage.

Bringing awareness to this is key to helping us change the way we think about the world’s limited resources. Seeing garbage as something other than a useless problem is the first step to a less wasteful and more prosperous world. Keyword: seeing.

At TerraCycle, we are on a mission to eliminate the idea of waste and do this in a number of ways. Many of you may be familiar with our national recycling programs, our work integrating beach litter into bottles, or the new Loop initiative to move consumables into durable packages. But one of the more visual, easily understood representations of what we do is upcycle “trash” into useful objects, including art.

 

 

If you visit our offices around the world, you’ll see what I mean. Desks and tables made out of old doors, a Statue of Liberty made of toothpaste tubes, and phone booths repurposed into mini conference rooms. Our largest, the aptly named “Bottle Room,” exists in the middle of our global headquarters and is defined by four walls constructed of clear two-liter plastic bottles, items often thrown away.

 

 

We have an entire team of Design Junkies dedicated to finding solutions for needs around the office and creating new, visually stimulating artworks and products for brand partners. We also work directly with local and international artists to provide material they can use to create art

For example, TerraCycle’s Artist in Residence EdE Sinkovics, turns trash into statements about waste by creating assemblages out of discarded materials, such as cigarette butts into portraits of presidents (Lincoln, The Sustainable Republican, 2018), retired canvas mail bags and old tires into sculptures (Rhino Stamp, 2014; Elephant, 2014), and wine corks into human figures (Madam Cork, 2014).

 

 

His latest work, The Dirt of Venus, reimagines Botticelli’s famous Renaissance painting, The Birth of Venus. A conversation starter, Venus bears vibrant resemblance to its inspiration while entirely made of trash — ocean plastic, to be exact. These artworks face the viewer with uncomfortable truths. Even the most difficult-to-recycle materials can in fact be made into something useful, even beautiful. And, there’s a lot of plastic pollution out there!

These art pieces currently hang in the special art exhibit Scrapped: A Collection of Upcycled Artwork, our first show in partnership with Downtown Trenton Association at Broad Street Bank Gallery open through April 13. The collection, which includes on-site installations and mixed media pieces of varying styles, also includes on-site installations from acclaimed aerosol artist and friend of TerraCycle Leon Rainbow and Brendon Lopez (Streets Keep Callin, 2019), reclaimed textiles artist Heemin Moonin in collaboration with Dororthy McNee (Green Palace, 2019), and TerraCycle employees.

 

 

Scrapped is in line with our mission to change perspectives and connect people through shared experiences. All the featured art utilizes discarded and otherwise “scrapped” materials. Designed to encourage viewers to question their day-to-day lifestyle and their impact on the planet, the upcycled art show transforms garbage into artistic visions that connect the dots between us and the things we throw away.

This exhibit will be back next year, but we intend to continue changing perspectives with our work upcycling and recycling unconventional materials and striving to offer the public a connection to sustainability that empowers and inspires them.

 

 

Creativity and community hold the key to solving the world’s greatest problems, including pollution and waste, and art is a language that brings people together. This Earth Month and beyond, find the educational information, media, music and art that moves you, and share it to change the story about trash.

TerraCycle was founded in 2001 by Tom Szaky. The company operates in 21 countries across five lines of business. It is headquartered in Trenton's north ward, off New York Avenue. Graffiti-like slogans scrawled across the exterior walls include "OUTSMART WASTE" "REUSE UPCYCLE RECYCLE" and "ZERO WASTE." "TerraCycle wanted to partner with BSB Gallery because of our mutual love for Trenton," Kim said. "It was compiled from a bunch of different sources but the artwork was all sourced from our office. Everything was really created from waste. Upcycled clothing on loan from The TerraCycle Collection. Textiles made from recycled plastic chip bags, candy wrappers, juice pouches & more. Yep, those are Dorito's bags.     One of the site-specific installations is titled "Streets Keep Callin," a mixed media concept by Leon Rainbow, Stickers and tags by various artists. Painted and installed by Leon Rainbow and Brendon Lopez.     The other site-specific installation occupies a bank vault in the gallery, which is in the former Broad Street Bank building. "Green Palace," a showcase of three-dimensional shapes incorporating upcycled materials by Heemin Moon in collaboration with Dororthy McNee.               The former Broad Street Bank building, at 143 East State St., now houses the BSB Gallery. "Scrapped" runs through April 13, 2019. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays. The gallery is hosting a closing reception on Friday, April 12, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m

They say one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. Well, in Trenton, one person’s trash is another person’s art. A new exhibit called “Scrapped” has transformed more than 7 billion pieces of garbage into breathtaking works of art. It’s presented by the BSB Gallery and TerraCycle, a global waste management company based in Trenton. “There’s an Abraham Lincoln made out of cigarette butts,” said Lisa Pellegrino, business development manager for zero waste at TerraCycle. “Garments that you see here out of Doritos packaging and things that you would never think. It’s this idea of recycling, upcycling, repurposing. It requires a certain amount of creativity.” Pellegrino says the art is a conversation starter, a way to get the community talking about waste, recycling and human behavior. One way they’re doing that is through presentations that foster discussion. Terracycle founder and CEO Tom Szaky is the visionary behind the project. He says he’s fine putting himself out of business in a world without waste. “Our mission is to eliminate the idea of waste, right? And that placement of the word idea is really intentional and brilliant, in the sense that there’s no such thing as waste, just misplaced resources. And this whole exhibit, it’s just incredible to be immersed in the community, have these members here appreciating the art and sharing their own stories of how they have re-imagined everyday items,” Pellegrino said. Even the building itself is part of the story. Built in the 1900s, it was once a bank that fell into complete disrepair. At one point it was falling into the streets of Trenton. But it’s been restored, and it now serves as the perfect backdrop to the exhibition. “The Trenton Historical Society picked up the building. They said this is a historical landmark. This was the first skyscraper in Trenton,” said Aine Mickey, curator at BSB Gallery. “We’re right in downtown Trenton as well, so this was a pretty big deal for this area, and for the history of not only Trenton, but also architecture. This is a beautiful space.” Mickey curated the “Scrapped” exhibit and included descriptions of the trash that was used in each piece. “We have whole huge, portraits made entirely of found beach plastic. It’s exciting to kind of watch people breeze through, and then they’ll stop at one piece. And they’ll have to look at it for a while, and they’ll say, ‘This is made of cigarettes?'” Mickey said. “I love when people see something in something else, so that just really excites me,” said Sally Willoughby with Philadelphia Dumpster Divers. “It was great being in a circle of people who all think deeply about this, so it leaves you very hopeful,” said attendee Nadia Akbar. The exhibit will be open to public until April 13.

“Green Palace” is a new site-specific art installation on view at the BSB Gallery through Saturday, April 13. Created by Korean artist Heemin Moon and collaborator Dorothy McNee of Lawrenceville, the three-dimensional artwork offers visitors “an intimate world of exotic creatures, iridescent lighting, metallic finishes, and sustainable materials,” say BSB Gallery press materials. Moon works in both graphic and fine arts and has exhibited internationally. McNee is the owner of ITS Group (International Textile Group) and is Moon’s contact for special projects. The Green Palace was designed specifically for the vault at the BSB Gallery, the former Broad Street Bank building. The installation complements the BSB’s current exhibition “Scrapped” — created in cooperation with artists connected with TerraCycle, the Trenton-based company that repurposes waste materials to create internationally sold products. BSB Gallery, 143 East State Street. “Scrapped” is on view through Saturday, April 13. www.bsbgallery.com

“GREEN PALACE”: Heemin Moon’s installation in the former bank vault at BSB Gallery in Trenton showcases three-dimensional shapes incorporating upcycled materials, including a whimsical view of man’s best friend. It is on display through April 13. Heemin Moon, in collaboration with Dorothy McNee, has created the site-specific installation “Green Palace,” on display in the former bank vault at BSB Gallery at 143 East State Street in Trenton through April 13. Heemin Moon’s “Green Palace” is an intimate world of exotic creatures, iridescent lighting, metallic finishes, and sustainable materials. This showcase of three-dimensional shapes, incorporating upcycled materials, is a result of Moon’s unique whimsical view of man’s best friend and unlikely wildlife in regal surroundings. His art and color vision were rendered for the special collaboration between BSB Gallery and TerraCycle, the exhibit “Scrapped.” Heemin Moon is a graphic artist by trade with a bachelor of fine arts in visual design from Gachon University, Seongnam, South Korea. Moon’s work has been featured in the auction world of Bid Square, on various book covers, and in projects for private companies. Aside from his daily work, his passion is creating three-dimensional shapes using a variety of recycled materials, including paper, textiles, and plastic. Moon has created a variety of animals in paper and ceramic as well as pen and ink sketches that have been featured in exhibitions all over the world. Moon has worked closely with International Textiles Sourcing, or I.T.S. GROUP, a textile agency owned by collaborator Dorothy McNee. Aside from marketing environmentally-friendly textiles to retailers and designers, her passion is keeping products from landfills, whether its garments, furniture, or textile remnants. The “Green Palace” installation was designed specifically for the vault at the BSB Gallery. The inspiration came from the original vault doors and the overall space of this restored 1900s bank building. Moon has incorporated a modern attitude with old world charm, glitz, humor, and his unique animal shapes within a human’s domain. “Scrapped” runs through April 13 at the BSB Gallery. An Earth Month/Closing Reception will take place on Friday, April 12 from 5 to 7 pm.

TerraCycle works to turn garbage into innovative art. Brian Taff reports during Action News at 6 a.m. on March 10, 2019.   Sunday, March 10th, 2019 6:56AM   TRENTON, N.J. (WPVI) -- Garbage really is everywhere, it can litter our streets and landscapes, and harm the environment. But inside the colorful headquarters of Trenton-based recycling company TerraCycle, Founder and CEO Tom Szaky and his team are tackling this problem from every angle, including their own workspace. "I think that you need to create a really dynamic work environment to be innovative. I mean in this office every detail is made from waste. It's incredibly fun and exciting and uplifting to be here," says Szaky. Soda bottle partitions, conference room table made of doors, all these things set the tone. And don't be fooled, this is a global company working to spark change around the world by recycling some hard to recycle products. "TerraCycle recycles some really out there things. Most recently we launched diaper recycling in Amsterdam, chewing gum recycling in Mexico City and even cigarette recycling in Trenton, but also 400 other major cities around the United States," Szaky says. Those cigarette butts, cited as the single greatest source of ocean trash, are collected at TerraCycle bins. Organic parts are composted and the plastic compounds in the filter turned into everything from ashtrays, to park benches and shipping pallets. At the BSB Gallery in Trenton, TerraCycle is focused on getting the message out that anything can be recycled or even upcycled into beautiful art or clothing by partnering with artists for a newly opened exhibit called "Scrapped." "From a take on the birth of Venus made entirely from ocean plastic really raising the awareness that 25 percent of our waste ends up in our oceans. To an Abraham Lincoln made from cigarette butts," says Szaky. Awareness of trash through art and creativity is just one part, and TerraCycle is focused on even bigger goals. "We have a garbage crisis right now, and we have to clean it up, but we also have to stop creating more waste," Szaky says. And TerraCycle's newest innovation to fight single-use waste is called "Loop." "Loop is working with the biggest companies from Haagen Dazs in ice cream to Tide in laundry detergent and almost everyone in between, Coke and Pepsi and many others reimagine their products from being disposable to being durable," says Szaky. The bin and specialized containers get shipped to and from the home, cleaned and refilled, in sort of a 21st century reboot of the milkman. Just one of the many innovations being worked on at TerraCycle in Trenton to help solve the problem of waste.