Turning trash to treasure

A 1,500-square-foot workshop sits in Hidden Valley similar to many others, except in one critical way: it was constructed entirely from reused materials.

“We had a gentleman come in week after week gathering wood people had dropped off to be recycled, and the next thing you know he had built a workshop out of it,” said Gina D’Abella, director of the Recycling Association of Maricopa.

It is this same sense of finding value in recyclable items that D’Abella hopes to instill through a recycled art contest. D’Abella said many people think about going green, they simply think recycling. But that is the last rung on the green ladder: the first two are reuse and reduce.

“When we sell recycled glass, we make about $10 a pound before transportation cost, but you can sell one plate made from reused glass for $20,” D’Abella said. The contest, which is open to all residents of Maricopa, challenges residents to create art from recyclable objects, such as scrap metal, glass and more.

Entries into the contest were submitted early in the month, and the association’s board of directors is in the process of choosing winners for each of six categories: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12; a group project and an adult category. Plus, a best overall winner will be chosen from these categories.

“We are planning on choosing the winners on Earth Day (April 22) and presenting them with a certificate of accomplishment in addition to a gift card for a local business,” D’Abella said.

This is the second year the organization has held a recycled art contest; they held their last contest two years ago, utilizing the specific medium of recycled glass.

“The first event was really geared toward changing a perception that we did not accept glass,” D’Abella said. “But this event is just all about promoting recycling and reusing.”

The director hopes to make the event an annual occurrence. “I just walk around the recycling center and see art in all these materials; I guess I am just a frustrated artist,” she said. While the contest is a great way to promote recycling in the community, D’Abella hopes to take the art concept one step further by introducing a Web site in the coming months from which consumers can purchase art made from recycled objects.

“We hope some of the entrants we get into the contest will be items we can reproduce and sell,” D’Abella said.

Artists who submit the items for sale would receive the majority of the profits and would be in charge of reproducing their art. But a portion of the proceeds would go to help fund the non-profit Recycling Association. “We haven’t decided what the split on the money would be yet,” D’Abella said.

While D’Abella is the primary force behind the contest, she has had help from three high school students Dillon Dugan, Karissa Browning and Trudi Wimberly. These students have been extremely helpful in getting this project going, D’Abella said.

File photo