Museum of Litter

Cigarette Butt Makeover ;)

BEFORE: Cigarette Butts collected in 1/2 hour (March 6th) at our Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, FL monthly beach cleanup:

AFTER:

Angel of Green #13, Medium: Cigarette Butts and Bottle Cap (upcycled), Acrylic, Recycled Mat, Frame & Museum Glass

and

AFTER:

Starfish #1; Medium: Cigarette Butts (Filter Paper), Recycled Mat, Frame & Museum Glass

Museum of Litter in the News

There was a great article about us today by Don Crinklaw in the Fort Lauderdale SunSentinel -- in the East Side Forum (pg 11) and the Eastsider (pg 6). Here's a link to a readable copy of the article:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fort-lauderdale/fl-esb-litter-0128-20100128,0,7058162.story

A LITTER CHRISTMAS TREE reminds us we share One World - Elaine Devine

This may not be the most unique or unusual Christmas tree, but it's got to be one of the greenest. All decorations are 100% local litter temporarily up-cycled into ornaments.

Thanks to all the adventurous spirits who attended our Litter Tree-trimming party -- it was the most fun I've ever had trimming a tree -- litterally!

There was lots of joy and laughter as we marveled at the nonsensical things that end up littering the beach as well as conversations about whether these items were left behind, lost by boaters or dumped by cruise ships.

The creativity shown was amazing; from using a child's sun-hat as a tree topper to the intriguing vignettes made from various litter combinations.

Thanks for letting us share our Litter tree with you. We hope it brought some whimsy into your day. Please share with family & friends to spread the word about a litter-free environment.

 

  

Plastic Free Fridays in Memory of X310

Thanks to Ron Hirschi and two of his great projects, SOAR (Save Our Albatross Research) and Museum of Endangered Hawaiian and Ocean Animals for permission to share the following information and photos.

X 310

Born on Pihemanu, Midway Atoll March 2008.

Died in June 2008.

 

Like many albatrosses, X310 was fed plastics by her parents, because parent birds are increasingly unable to tell real food from the endless stream of bottle caps, markets, lighters, toothbrushes, and other plastic in the ocean. An estimated 46,000 pieces of plastic float in every square mile of ocean, making it tougher for the birds to find flying fish eggs and squid, their natural diet.

You can help by choosing to be plastic free this and every Friday. Choose not to buy foods wrapped in plastic, toys make of plastic, computers, pens and especially bottles with detachable plastic caps.

THANK YOU FOR GOING PLASTIC FREE FRIDAYS

Project SOAR http://soaronhirschi.blogspot.com/ 

 

 

 

 

It's the Little Things that Count

You've heard that a thousand times. It's just as true with litter.

Here in Lauderdale by the Sea, FL people say, "We have a clean beach." And basically, we do. If you look up and down the beach usually you'll see just natural, pristine, beauty. However, if you look close, especially at the tidelines in the seaweed, you'll see a lot of small bits of (mostly) plastic...bottle caps, lighters, straws, fast-food drinking cups... the list goes on & on. These things are almost invisible when you glance down the beach. Yet, that is the very thing that makes them so deadly -- that they are so small. Small enough to look like food. Small enough for your fine feathered & finned friends to eat and feed their young and then die because they can't digest our detritus.

Until litter prevention is the norm, if you'd like to help, consider taking a plastic bag with you and spending a few minutes picking up litter you encounter in your daily travels.

 

3 Monkeys, Cocoa Beach, FL now carrying Museum of Litter art

 

Our art is now in an adorable, eclectic, gift shop in Cocoa Beach, FL called 3 Monkeys. The owner, Lisa, has added our unique upcycled, recycled litter art to her fabulous selection of gifts. One of the pieces she selected is actually made from Cocoa Beach litter -- cigarette butts and bottle caps collected from the parking lot of Cocoa Beach Pier. If you're in the area, stop by, say hi and check it out. 3 Monkeys is at 24 North Orlando Ave. close to the landmark Coconuts, near A1A and Minutemen Causeway. www.3Monkeys.us

Video of Litter Art, Concept, & Giving Litterer a THANK YOU card

 

The Museum had an art booth at the City of Miramar's (FL) first Earth Day Celebration. We just received this great video footage of the event.

 

Here are some videos showing our Litter Art (recycled and upcycled), explaining the concept behind it, and showing our Thank You card for litterers.

 

START COUNTER AT 7:35 to see:

Sharon show and explain the litter art, made primarily from cigarette butts, and tell the goal of the museum. (Our portion of video is 54 seconds long)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YajoAFa7_x0&feature=PlayList&p=143929019FFE582E&index=0

 

START COUNTER AT 2:00 to see:

Sharon explain the concept of Thank You cards for litterers.  Video is 40 seconds long

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHoVk7iavT4&feature=PlayList&p=143929019FFE582E&index=2

 

Thank you for watching. Hope this explains what we are trying to do.

Litter Donations -- June 22, 2009 -- Sanibel Island, FL and The Everglades

Went back to Sanibel's Lighthouse Beach late this morning before leaving the island and collected only cigarette butts for future litter art. It was pretty hot -- they were having a heat advisory -- so just collected a small zip lock bag full in fifteen minutes.

  On the way back to the east coast on Alligator Alley,  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGijPkAxLt8&feature=channel_page

we stopped in the Everglades at a recreation area and did a quick pickup of cigarette butts and bottle caps in the parking lot.