Photo courtesy of Zero Co.
It’s a castle, it's a dump, no, wait – it's a 20-ton plastic waste pyramid in Egypt’s Western Desert, just outside of Cairo. Pyramids of Garbage, our installation that we created in 2020 together with artist Bahia Shehab and Countdown – TED’s global initiative to champion and accelerate solutions to the climate crisis, is back – bigger and bolder!
The installation returns to Egypt just ahead of COP27, this time thanks to Zero Co, a zero-waste company. Erected in the Western Desert, just outside of Cairo, the immense structure is made using the equivalent of 1 million plastic water bottles, collected from the Nile River. It weighs a whopping 20 tons and is taller than a three-story building.
By placing (AGAIN!) an actual pyramid of garbage in Cairo – the home of the only surviving wonder of the world, the great pyramids of Giza – our artwork raises questions about overproduction and overconsumption. “Now is the time for us to rethink our legacy on this planet. Are we going to come together to build a sustainable future for all of us or will our new legacy be pyramids of garbage?” asks the artist Bahia Shehab.
The 2022 stunt kicks off the 100YR CLEANUP initiative, which seeks to fund large-scale clean-ups over the next 100 years and drive accountability for the single-use plastic problem. Consumers and businesses both can join the initiative to sponsor the removal of "bundles of trash" and contribute to future cleanups around the world.
Photo courtesy of Zero Co.
The message is clear – it's time to draw a line in the sand and change how we manage the crisis. Those who have the ability, have the responsibility. 100YR CLEANUP founder, Mike Smith, says: "We can't fix the plastic problem alone, but we can give everyone the ability to take action… We want to ensure that future generations have the opportunity to experience untouched wilderness in all its powerful forces. Whilst we inherit this planet from our ancestors, we also borrow it from our children."
All photos courtesy of Zero Co.