So to try and further explore the theme of re purposing and excess waste I decided to visit a local Tip. I wanted to see if I could find something , anything that could be rehomed, re used and re purposed. I wanted to explore the way these items where dumped and explore purpose and loss of purpose in objects. Hopefully this could lead to some kind of Repurposing of these forgotten and thrown away items that no longer have a use. I also really wanted to reduce waste, fill a need, and give life to thrown away objects.
What I found really surprised me. So so so many objects virtually brand new, some completely new in boxes and with there labels still on. So many useable items that had been thrown out to be dumped, sometimes recycled. These items could be so helpful to charities, students, to young parents, to shelters, to anyone with limited funds or in a tough situation. So why have they just been dumped, abandoned at the tip. They still have so much unfulfilled purpose and use in this world! It made me so sad. Whether it was the ease of taking it to the tip, the laziness, the lack of time or just lack of information about what charities you can give to, what shelters will take.
At the tip I noticed some workers picking things out of the tip, that were still useable and selling them in a small square in the tip from £1-10. Even a large cast iron antique fire place, I asked the worker he said it was expensive I might not want it. After asking again, assuming it was going to be £100's or even just £50 for the metal alone, but he said £10. I unfortunately couldn't take the fireplace to give a home as we had no space in the car. But I fell in love with the piece and really hoped someone could give it a home, it had so much life still in it, so much history and beauty.
While I was there I was fascinated by the amount of personal objects and things people have lived with , they have energy and history and now they are in a public bin. I wanted to take some scratchings/sketches of the ground and the space to fully document the space. What I ended up with was a small token of energy and space. My next post will continue to explore and explain what I found at the tip and what I took away from the experience.
