Tweet

BRIEF NEWS: Wirral Residents Celebrate De-Junking With Tea-Drinking

26 April 2012

A series of recycling and re-use workshops in Wirral have culminated in a showcase of art pieces - and a celebratory tea party

The brainwave of local artist, Alison Bailey Smith, the De-junk/Re-junk project held free craft workshops for children and parents where old, broken and unused household items were transformed into works of art. Old plastic bags were turned into attractive flowers and hanging decorations; milk bottles into garlands, while rags were fashioned into colourful scarves and boas.

Cups of tea were raised at the Green Community Shop and Centre in Oxton last week as the residents toasted each other's creative achievements.

The workshops have been run in-conjunction with the With These Hands Wirral Visual Artists Network, who helped teach people the skills to create something out of nothing.

The project itself has been part-funded by Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority's (MRWA) Community Resource Action Fund.

Carl Beer, chief executive of MRWA, said:"It's been great to see the positive effect that the project has had on local people, and of course demonstrating that waste isn't always waste - it is a resource that can be used for something else."

Alison Bailey Smith said: "Our network of artists have been involved with the annual recycling art exhibition with Wirral Council for the last three years and this year we wanted to become more engaged with the public and share our skills in the lead up to the exhibition in July. The grant from the MRWA has allowed us to run seven free workshops for the public exploring eco fashion, mosaics, book making and working with plastics."

Darrel Moore