In the Nigerian art scene, there is a new word that has started to gain traction and has been attracting the attention of international art organizations and art funding. This word, ‘wastepreneur’ or ‘ecopreneur’, is used to describe new-age contemporary artists who have developed an art business niche in using environmental wastes to create ecological art and other forms of art expressions.

Due to the rising global concerns surrounding the state of the environment’s health, eco-artists from Africa and around the world embarked on artistic expressions in collaboration with the physical environment to draw attention to ecological issues as well as our relationship and contribution to them. Ecological art has since become a contemporary art form as environmentally-conscious artists create art forms that challenge us to think about our surroundings not just in terms of lived or built space, but as a cohesive system in which we have a central part to play.

Around the world, eco-artists are turning recyclables into creative pieces of art and thereby contributing to the clean earth movement taking place in different spheres of life. 

Since ecological art involves finding innovative ways to show your concern for the environment and encouraging the masses to reuse, reduce and recycle for a better future, you might want to contribute your artistic quota to this admirable art movement to celebrate Global Recycling Day which falls on March 18 with the theme #RecyclingHeroes, to draw attention to “the people, places, and activities that showcase what an important role recycling plays in contributing to an environmentally stable planet and a greener future which will benefit all”.

Not sure of where to start or what to use? As the leading aggregator of African art galleries, Aworanka has selected these six mind-blowing real-life ideas from both African eco-artists and eco-artists from around the world you can explore to inspire your own and be a #RecycleHero.

1. Plastic bottles: If you look around, you are sure to find discarded plastic bottles that had been used to package water, soda, alcohol, cleaning fluids, drinks, and so on. Instead of letting these plastic wastes lay around and continue to pollute the earth and endanger aquatic life, they can be manipulated and made into beautifying and sustainable art. Real-life samples of art you can make from plastic bottle wastes include Nigeria-based ecopreneur Jumoke Olowokere’s giant Christmas tree constructed on the street of Ibadan from discarded bottles, the Bristol UK Whale Sculpture, which is woven from biodegradable willow, and the waves under the whale constructed from 70,000 plastic water bottles discarded by spectators and runners at two local road races, and Miwa Koizumi’s artificial aquarium with the sea creatures made from trashed PET bottles. Another innovation using plastic to create works of art is the technique developed by South African-born Mbongeni Buthelezi who uses a unique style of heating colorful plastics to create portraits and paintings.

2. Tin Cans and Metal Waste: Metal waste such as discarded iron rods, tin cans used for food or paint packaging, and scrap metal have also become a menace to the environment. For inspiration on what to do with these odds and ends, look no further than Nigerian eco-artist Ade Dagunduro’s Torso, a female form made from dismantled motorcycle chains or metal waste artist Wasiu Arowolo’s Junior - a large pair of slippers made with cans, with a small child’s leg in it – which won an award in 2012 and his butterfly artwork made from tin cans. You can look to globally acclaimed Kenyan artist Kioko Mwitiki’s life-sized scrap metal sculptures of wildlife which are on display at Kenya's State House in Nairobi. There is also a diverse collection of Metal art on the Aworanka platform.

3. Tyres and rubber waste: Ade Dagunduro’s The Challenge, a sculpture of an ox made out of discarded car tyre meant to be burnt is a good place to start when considering what you can do with tire waste. Another artwork to get inspired by is the gigantic Tyrannosaurus sculpture made from twenty used tyres by British artist Chris Pilmore.

4. Household Junk: You can look to Nigerian eco-artist Ibrahim Gbadamosi who made a map of Africa from bottle tops and foam slippers or British toy sculptor Robert Bradford who uses colorful plastic items such as buttons, combs, and brushes to create sculptures of humans and animals.

5: Grasses and trees: Like Nigerian eco-artist Ibrahim Gbadamosi, you can make a sailing ship from a tree trunk! Or create amazing grass sculptures like French artist Mathilde Roussel-Giraudy, whose “anthropomorphic and organic” sculptures known as ça pousse! (it's growing) are made with soil, wheat seed, and recycled metal.

Art and nature have always been a point of intersection and now you can merge your passion for creating beautiful art and your passion for raising awareness about the impact of environmental pollution by venturing into ecological art.