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The Houston Arts Alliance and the city’s Solid Waste Management Department have unveiled six new art recycling trucks. Designs created by six local artists were printed on vinyl panels and “wrapped” around the city trucks.
Solid Waste Director Harry Hayes says he hopes they will help encourage residents to live in a more eco-friendly way.
“Art is found everywhere around us, to help us, inspire us and refresh us, and we look for opportunities to provide beneficial reuse to save landfill space that benefits all Houstonians,” said Hayes.
Hayes says a lot of things discarded can be recycled.
Artist Ariane Roesch’s work is depicted on one of the trucks. With the help of a sewing machine, she says her inspiration comes in finding another use for her scraps of material.
“Taking something that I could have just easily just thrown away, but then reusing it and giving it a second life, which is something that recycling is all about,” said Roesch. “It’s a little bit more effort, but in the end it gives a second life, it’s wonderful.”
Matthew Lennon, with the Houston Arts Alliance, says the trucks are meant to inspire citizens and to be environmentally conscious.
“I think opportunities like this are great, because it puts the artist into the infrastructure of this city,” said Lennon. “So often what we hear in Houston is we don’t have enough art in my neighborhood. Well these trucks will be in your neighborhood. We’re going to roll out at least two more trucks at this point, hopefully this becomes an ongoing program.”
The mobile artworks will travel Houston streets for about 7-years and promote the city’s recycling services.