A giant Mount Rushmore-style sculpture of the heads of the G7 heads of state and government, which appeared on a beach in Cornwall during the G7 climate summit and is made entirely of discarded electronics, will spend the summer in Stockport.
The sculpture – called Mount Recyclemore – was created by leading UK re-commerce expert musicMagpie, based in Stockport, along with the artist and founder of the Mutoid Waste Company, Joe Rush, and highlights the growing threat posed by e-waste and features world leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The captivating installation, which consists of around 20,000 individual pieces of electronic waste, will be on site at the Stockport Exchange business center for eight weeks starting July 21 and will be part of the summer activities of the Stockport Business Improvement District, which includes an art trail with 21 giant frogs, a food festival and Stockport’s first enduro cycling festival.
Mount Recyclemore was created to raise awareness of the growing problem of e-waste, considered to be the fastest growing waste stream in the world. According to the UN, the 53 million tons of electronic waste currently generated worldwide will more than double by 2050.
Despite this growing environmental problem, musicMagpie’s own research * has shown that an alarming four in five (79%) Britons do not know what electronic waste is. When it came to defining e-waste, almost a third (31%) did not believe that it was harmful to the environment or were unsure, while 45% were not aware that it was affecting climate change.
Steve Oliver, founder and CEO of musicMagpie, said: “I am excited to bring Mount Recyclemore back to our hometown of Stockport. The sculpture is just amazing to look at and caused a stir around the world when we unveiled it during the G7 summit in Cornwall. E-waste is a growing problem worldwide and its impact on the environment is significant. Our research shows that nearly half of Britons currently don’t recycle, resell, or donate their old technology to charity. Most choose to instead hold it where it goes in the back of the drawer and collects dust. Amazingly, almost five million adults openly admit to throwing old technology in the trash can at home.
I hope that not only will Mount Recyclemore be a fantastic day for adults and children this summer, but it will also help better educate people and empower them to make change today. People can support a more sustainable circular economy by doing something as simple as trading or recycling their technology, which will extend the life of these devices and their parts. Thanks to our customers, we can already give a second life to almost half a million consumer technology products every year. “
Cllr Sheila Bailey, Cabinet Member for Sustainable Stockport, said, “The Council is delighted to see that musicMagpie has brought this amazing art installation to the heart of Stockport city center, uniquely highlighting the environmental cost of discarded electronic devices.
None of us can ignore climate change and its effects on our planet. The Stockport Council has released its climate change strategy, Stockport CAN, along with a comprehensive work plan that aims to encourage everyone to do their part to help Stockport achieve carbon neutrality by 2038. Everyone CAN make a difference.
The local council also has a plan to recycle electronic equipment, as well as other electrical appliances that musicMagpie does not buy from residents. Stopfordians can visit Community Computers, a local recycling initiative that recycles old, unused equipment to help people get online, as well as tackling e-waste and training the long-term unemployed in IT recycling.
You can drop off your old computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones in any library in Stockport or visit: www.communitycomputers.co.uk “
For more information on Mount Recyclemore and where it is located, click here.
Find out more about the Council’s Climate Action Now strategy here.
