Sound Artist Diego Stocco is at the CES convention in Las Vegas. Sudden inspiration came from the resonant sound of a trash can, so he recorded this impromptu performance on his iPhone. -Thanks, Diego!

There are no landfills for garbage in Antarctica, at least none near McMurdo Station, the American research outpost. Therefore, recycling is a serious endeavor, with a very extensive list of items to be recycled. Still, the residents have a sense of humor and added some “extra” bins for even more stuff to be recycled! See more at Boing Boing. Link
(Image credit: Henry Kaiser)
One of the dogs got into the trash. Was it Jed, Xena, or Tank? I think they are all guilty, but one was not smart enough to get rid of the evidence! -via Arbroath

Israeli designer Koby Sibony took plastic trash collected from beach and created awesome works of art.
See, who says that trashing your beach is a bad thing? Design Milk has more: Link
Someone got into the trash! The homeowners have two dogs, so how can they determine which one is the guilty party? -via Arbroath
A photo gallery in the Lexington Herald-Leader documents how a lucky squirrel retrieved an entire fast-food meal in a trash can at a city park.
The squirrel climbed inside the can and came out with a french fry. After eating the fry, it went back in the can and came out with the remains of a fish sandwich. Local parks were crowded this afternoon as temperatures neared 70.
The story was featured on the front page of the paper, prompting debate on its newsworthiness. It may be filler for a newspaper, but it’s just right for Neatorama. Link -via Fark
(Image credit: Charles Bertram/Lexington Herald-Leader)
Hydn Rousseau was so tired of all the trash and crime in his Florida neighborhood that he finally took matters into his own hands. He organized a cleanup effort.
“I saw debris and trash everywhere and I said I have to come back home and make a difference in my community,” stated Rousseau.
Last Saturday, he organized a neighborhood cleanup with 50 volunteers. The team cleaned several lots of dangerous trash, including needles and buckets of debris.
What did he get for all his hard work? He got a reprimand from the mayor and city attorney. Apparently they aren’t happy that Rousseau didn’t follow proper procedures.
Rochelle Ritchie of WPTV has more: Link
Through uncertain methods, San Francisco-based artist Jason Mecier convinces celebrities to donate personal trash to them. He turns the individual contributions into portraits of each celebrity:
He uses junk and discarded items donated by top stars, so yes…that Trojan condom box in the top left corner of Tina Fey‘s portrait actually came from Tina herself. Mecier has spent over 10 years creating outrageous portraits and is now so popular that stars contact him directly and pay $1,500 for a portrait, which he gladly makes from a bag of their junk that they provide.
Celebs who have asked for the portraits include Chris Rock, Pink, Tori Spelling, and Chelsea Handler, whose portrait includes empty vodka bottles, a Snuggie box, Martini glasses, bottle opener, buttons, batteries, chapstick, dice, pens, badges and movie tickets.
Link via Crackajack | Artist’s Website
Previously: Jason Mecier’s Food Art
1800 Recycling has collected a decent survey of Star Wars characters made our of trash. As cool as it would be to have a Yoda made of scrap metal, I feel like there are better ways to spend your money, like an AT-AT wedding cake.
The Metal Park, which also specializes in famous movie characters like Predators, Aliens, Terminators, Batman and Star Wars — all recreated in metal. But the shop’s sculptures are all made by 12 artists from Thailand who use scrap metal parts from local junkyards, many of them old car parts. Though this method is definitely green, the Metal Park sculptures are not cheap: Life-size Darth Vaders can cost up to $7,000.
Link via Unique Daily | Photo – Star Wars Obsession
Corona has teamed up with environmental artist HA Schult to draw attention to the sorry state of the European shoreline. On June 3rd the Save the Beach campaign opened a pop-up hotel in Rome, designed by Schult, made almost entirely from trash that has washed up on beaches across Europe. Winners of a contest on Facebook got to spend a night in the trash (but not trashy) hotel. You may have to fill in an age verification box to see the site.
Link – via It’s Nice That
This trash can was created as an attempt to make it more fun for people to throw their waste. 72 kilos of garbage was put in the bin during one day. That is 41 kilos more than the closest standard trash bin.
In the Follydock IFCR festival in 2007, artists, designers, and architects came together in an abandoned part of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, to design "follies" or strange and playful structures that defy traditional architectural wisdom (not to mention common sense).
This one above, the Temple of Trash, was made by the SALZIG Design Team. It’s composed of 100 tonnes of plastic bottles compressed into bales of garbage.
Link | More at Follydock’s website – via Recyclart and MAKE
Artists Tim Noble and Sue Webster have taken piles of trash and turned them into interesting abstract artworks depicting people or animals. The piece above is called White Trash (With Gulls), it is comprised of six month’s worth of trash and two dead sea gulls. The image portrayed is a self portrait of the artists relaxing with a glass of wine.
Link Via YesButNoButYes
The home of John R. Mallgren of Mastic Beach, New York was condemned for unsafe conditions. Workers then removed 85,000 pounds of debris from the property, which required 10 garbage trucks! The city is sending the $8,742 bill to the owner of the property, John W. Mallgren, who is the occupant’s father. He had tried to clean up the property before, but was threatened by his son. Town Supervisor Mark Lesko said a pit bull was also seized, and was taken to a shelter.
The younger Mallgren is due in District Court in Islip on Aug. 13 for a charge of second-degree menacing for allegedly threatening his father with a hammer, records state. He is also due in District Court in Patchogue on Aug. 20 to respond to the code violations, court officials said.
The younger Mallgren apparently accumulated the junk during the years he lived in the home, Lesko said, and seems to believe the debris has commercial value.
The man is “a menace in the neighborhood,” who let the home deteriorate into something “like a scene out of a movie,” Lesko said.
Link -via Huffington Post
Shopkeeper Yvonne Froud was fed up with all the trash strewn around her village in Gloucestershire, England, so she decided to do something about it. Whenever a kid buys treats from her shop, she writes the child’s name on the packaging …
Mrs Froud said if named wrappers were found on the streets, she had a chat to the “offender” who was temporarily banned from the shop or asked to pick up some litter as a consequence.
“On the whole the feedback has been good.”
The clean-up campaign began four weeks ago when the children were encouraged, with the incentive of an Easter egg, to pick up sweet and crisp packets.
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Minnesotastan.
You just love buying the latest technologies, right? Can’t stand to sit without the coolest and newest gadget. But wait … where did your old one go? There are graveyards for these kinds of things, believe it or not, and some are more impressive than you ever imagined.
The city of Guiyu is home to 5,500 businesses devoted to processing discarded electronics, known as e-waste. According to local websites, the region dismantles 1.5 million pounds of junked computers, cell phones and other devices a year.
From the Upcoming ueue, submitted by Urbanist.
I love this cute fan dress. Best of all, the fans are actually made from folded up junk mail and then sewn onto canvas. I bet you never thought all that crap you throw in the trash every day could be made so pretty.
Tim Nobel and Sue Webster creates amazing shadow effects using piles of trash.

