Ahead of G7 Summit, 'Mount Recyclemore' sculptor in Cornwall highlights e-waste hazards

Sculptors have installed a mammoth ‘Mount Recyclemore’ sculpture in the United Kingdom conveying an important environmental message for the world leaders ahead of the G7 summit. Constructed on the Mount Rushmore, Cornwall, the structure depicts the faces of seven world leaders which are made out of electronic waste materials, such as computers, keyboards, phones, hard drives, iPods, and circuit boards. 

The giant structure aims to turn the focus on the environmental damage caused by electronic waste that is reusable or recyclable. Sculptor Joe Rush told the local press ahead of the G7 meeting that the electronics need to be repairable or it should be made to last longer. But it is all going into landfills generating tons and tons of electronic waste. 

The sculptor wanted to divert the attention of the seven leaders—UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, and US President Joe Biden towards the e-waste hazards on the ecosystems. 

A record 53.6 million tonnes of e-waste was produced globally in 2019; $57 billion in gold and other components discarded — mostly dumped or burned. This is approximately 9 million tonnes more than what was produced five years earlier, according to a United Nations report. The report also predicts that the global e-waste, discarded products with a battery or electrical plug is expected to reach 74 Mt by 2030, almost a doubling of e-waste tonnage in just 16 years. Just 17.4 percent of 2019’s e-waste was collected and recycled, meanwhile, Asia generated the greatest volume of e-waste in 2019 — some 24.9 Mt. 

The sculptor Rush who installed the electronic waste structure is a founder of a performing arts collective called The Mutoid Waste Company, which transforms garbage into artwork. The artists told CBS’s partner network BBC that the "Mount Recyclemore" sculpture was constructed in collaboration with artist Alex Wreckage and it is intended to demonstrate the harm caused by the huge amount of e-waste. The former said that he wanted to highlight the key environmental issue while the world leaders "fly over" on their way to the resort in Cornwall. The sculptor is installed strategically across the water from the Carbis Bay Hotel, the venue of the summit. 

The installation was constructed with prior research and illustrates the size per quantity of e-waste generated by the G7 countries that produce 15.9 million tonnes of e-waste a year, with the US (6.9m), Japan (2.6m), Germany (1.6m), and the UK (1.6m) as the worse offenders according to the UN. The UK, in fact, produced 23.9kg per capita annually, the second largest electrical and electronic equipment waste per capita in the world.

[Credit: Twitter/@WillSandyDesign]

Campaign in collaboration with musicMagpie

Mount Recyclemore campaign has collaborated with the musicMagpie that sells old electronic and recycles electronic, and global waste management charity WasteAid. It will donate £1 to charity for each piece of consumer tech trade throughout June. Steve Oliver, founder, and CEO, at musicMagpie, told UK’s Circular that e-waste is a growing problem worldwide and its impact on the environment is significant. When diverted to landfills, e-waste can leak harmful chemicals into the soil and water or if incinerated, fumes release chemicals into the air, contributing to global warming. Further, he highlighted that phones, other electronics and laptops rely heavily on precious materials to operate, which are not only limited resources but also directly impact climate change.