The WEEE Christmas Treee

The WEEE Christmas Treee

03 December 2019

The WEEE Christmas Treee 

Margate based Zo Defferary created the WEEE Christmas Tree for Future Foundry’s Waste Free event at Turner Contemporary to highlight that over 250K (61%) tonnes of small electronic waste per year in the UK is potentially not being recycled correctly. Small electricals like phones, toys, kettles, lights, tools, HiFi and DVD players - never get into the correct recycling systems but are instead mainly lost to landfill or incineration.

As we all get excited for all our shiny new Christmas gadgets, the scary thing to ask is where does this waste go - and it’s not a good answer.

The magpie attracting WEEE waste has been loaned to the project by Sittingbourne based recycling company SWEEEP Kuusakoski, one of the UK’s leading waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) collection and recycling specialist who recycle 25% of the UK’s electronics waste. 

SWEEEP are desperate to encourage more of us to recycle our electronics, to salvage the precious resources, that are running out - and much easier to get from recycling than mining. It is a simple message of ‘put waste in the right place’ but that simple action allows rare earth metals and over 30 commodities to go back round again to be made into new products. We are only recycling 39% of what we could and 61% is not being recycled…….it is down to resident of planet earth to do better!

Zo Defferary creates art from waste. Inspired by calligraphy and a love for glyphic forms and markings, she draws with inanimate objects and materials referencing patterns, symbols and ornamental decorative imagery. Zo has her own ongoing salvage practice which has contributed to the tree.

Dover based https://futurefoundry.org.uk work with artists, designers and makers to enable them to use waste and salvage as a base material for their creative work. The company supply training programmes, studio facilities and their own creative salvage programme which collects waste materials and equipment for re-distribution. 

© 2019

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