Recycled Art Reduces Waste and Adds Some Unique Taste to Your Home

I used to think that being “different” was a bad thing because most good things don’t stray from the norm. Instead of being like all of the other teenagers that bought the expensive brand name clothing, I used to scour thrift shops for used clothing that would make a statement. I’m not quite sure what that statement was, but it definitely had to do with expressing my unique style.

In a way, you could say that most artists are different because they each have their own style. And just like my style had to do with recycling someone else’s clothing, I’ve found a few artists whose style for art has to do with recycling someone else’s trash.

Recycled art pieces have taken the world by storm with their amazing ability to make trash into beautiful expressions of art. Okay, they’re not all beautiful, but they’re all meant to make a statement, and I think that you’ll agree that these cool recycled art pieces make a very big statement:

Recycled Cigarette Rabbit

I found this cool piece on EnvironmentalGraffitti.com. Artist Tom Deininger literally combed the parking lots of beaches to pick up discarded cigarettes for this recycled cigarette rabbit. Apparently it reeks of tobacco, but at least it’s cute!

Recycled Bottle Cap Fish Mosaic

John T. Unger says that his art is “sustainable design with an edge.” This recycled bottle cap fish mosaic definitely has some edge as it uses recycled Bud Light and Izze bottle caps, as well as recycled roofing copper.

Recycled Trash Robots

Artist Brandon Jan Blommaert said these recycled trash robots, made from trash that he picked up himself, were inspired by Godzilla. You can see more pictures of his recycled art at Inhabitat.com.

Recycled Red Plastic Litter Painting

This cool canvas painting was created by artist John Dahlsen when he and his friends picked up over 80 jumbo garbage bags full of trash from Australian beaches!

Mutha the Mendip Monster

British artist Chris Pilmore has been reincarnating trash into what he calls “spectacular sculptures” to show the world what can be done to reduce the amount of trash we throw away. Check out this video of Chris explaining his latest creation, a Tyre-annosauras Rex sculpture made from 20 used tires:

Recycled Geeky Art Sculptures

Walyou, a company aimed at making technology fun for everyone, posted this recycled art piece from artist Anna Smith. She reuses pieces from gadgets and electronics to make these cute and geeky art sculptures.

Recycled Toy Sculptures

GreenMuze.com featured a handful of recycled toy sculptures from British artist Robert Bradford. Bradford uses plastic and soft toy pieces, as well as anything else that he can find, to make these sculptures, like the dog above, into recycled works of art.

Framed Peach Cog Recycled Bike Art

Angela Armstrong is an artist and owner of Recycled Bike Art, a company that designs art pieces and products from recycled bike parts. This framed piece of art features a disc brake and the word “Peace” written in Chinese.

Rodrigo’s Recycled Art

Southern California artist Rodney “Rodrigo” McCoubrey collects pieces for his artwork, like the fish above, from California dumpsters, sidewalks and parking lots. Check out Rodrigo’s Recycled Art page to see all of his awesome creations.

Recycled Flip Flop Elephant Sculpture

This recycled art piece, as well as many others, is made from the thousands of flip flops that wash up on the shore of Kenya’s beaches. The company UniquEco started The FlipFlop Project in 1997 to reduce the amount of waste on the beaches, as well as to create fair trade jobs for the Kenyan women and teenagers. You can purchase this and other unique art pieces on the Swahili Imports website.

See, these art pieces are a “good” different because they represent art and recycling in one. Art work is meant to elicit a feeling, and I get the feeling that recycled art is going to make many people happy!