Every day, workers and machines at Metro's Central transfer station go through more than one and a quarter million pounds of trash. Recycling and composting programs help reduce the amount of waste that heads to the station, but there are still items that aren't or can't be recycled, at least until now. Metro has joined with other organizations to start a new recycling program; making art out of trash.
Metro has partnered with Cracked Pots and the new operator of Metro Central transfer station, Recology, to choose artists in the Portland metropolitan area to participate in the inaugural 2011 Pacific Northwest Art Program. The purpose of PNAP is to enable artists to create art from materials gleaned at Metro’s transfer station and to exhibit and sell that art at a public show at Metro Regional Center in September 2011. Five selected artists will receive a $1,000 stipend plus 80 percent of proceeds from sales of their art at the show. Applications must be received by Jan. 31. Cracked Pots, a volunteer organization, is deeply committed to reducing waste by reclaiming items that would otherwise end up in landfills.
PNAP is similar to Recology's Artist in Residence program in San Francisco, which hires artists to create works from reclaimed materials, promoting reuse and recycling.
Cracked Pots culls salvage material, organizes an annual Garden Art Show each summer and oversees public art projects similar to PNAP. They exhibit the work of many Northwest artists who make provocative art from reused, recycled and reimagined materials.