"For fish's sake London don't drop litter" - a Thames Plastic Art Update

The title of this post is the tag line for Maria Arceo’s Future Dust project. The installation, made of plastic litter found in, and around the River Thames, has been touring around London. Part of the Totally Thames festival. See my previous posts for more details about how I got involved with this project. Litter can scrub up well!

My Visit

I visited the installation at Canary Wharf Pier. A busy section on the Thames foreshore, with commuters, tourists and locals passing. Lots of people were stopping to look, take photos, and read the information boards.

A man cycling in the foreground. Behind wire mesh boxes of coloured plastic litter.

The main interpretation board for the exhibition. Headline reads "For fish's sake London don't drop litter".

The work is large, and eye catching, with the items displayed by colour or litter type. Containers for the plastic are sturdy mesh to keep hands out, but transparent enough for passers by to see the detail of what they contain. I heard children asking questions of their parents. Hopefully they will be more thoughtful than the generations that preceded them.

Close up of one of the mesh boxes making up the outdoor exhibition. This one contains orange plastic items with an adapted road work sign stating "Stop plastic works"

A view of a number of the mesh boxes with different coloured plastic litter in each one.

A second close up of a couple of the mesh boxes, ones contains clear plastic bottles. Buildings of Canary Wharf in the background.

Scarily this is just a small selection of the plastic Maria has collected on her 30+ clean ups. Most of these where in conjunction with the waterways charity Thames 21. Check out their events page to volunteer on a clean up.

As darkness falls..

This installation is also lit up at night. It will be at Canary Wharf peir until the evening of Saturday 30th September.

The mesh boxes are lit up at night illuminating the plastic waste.

What can we all do about plastic?

Whilst educating people to not drop litter is of course important. At the same time I am reducing the amount of disposable plastic items in my life. For example; bags, cups, straws, water bottles, cotton buds, cutlery etc. With less demand, less of these products would be made in the first place.

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GreenDuckie

Little Green Duckie (Justine) lives in Stratford, East London. A sustainability blogger who envisions a disposable-plastic free city. Changing the food system from the inside at Get Loose Foods, balcony vegetable grower, book swap guardian and loves a litter pick.