Have you spotted the new look garbage trucks hitting the streets in Shellharbour?
If you have, you might have noticed a parade of vibrant murals moving through the streets, collecting your bins each week. With coffee cups shredding on skateboards, nature-loving avocados, and chatty pizza boxes, sorting waste has taken on a whole new level of fun.
Shellharbour City Council is thrilled to officially launch its latest venture, "Waste: Let's Get it Sorted!".
With this vibrant initiative, Council has transformed the mundane, aiming to educate the community about waste management, promote sustainable habits, and instill a lasting change in how residents sort their waste.
In a fusion of art and education, Council partnered with street artist and digital illustrator, Happy Decay, to bring their vision of radiating positivity to life. Together, they've unleashed a cast of characters so lively, they practically leap off the waste trucks and into our hearts.
Designed to capture attention, each mural and character not only helps tell a story, but also supports clear identification of kerbside waste streams like FOGO, recycling, and general waste.
Bjarni Wark, the artist behind Happy Decay, expressed his excitement about the initiative: "This was such a fun project, helping to educate and create a positive awareness around waste through art," he said.
"I hope the background imagery of the murals will make these trucks a pleasure to see coming up the street. The idea is that by sorting our waste more effectively, we get to live in a cleaner environment.
Hopefully, in time, people will start to recognise these friendly characters and associate them with the correct bin they belong in, in a positive way."
The murals burst onto the city's waste trucks at the start of the year. From printed signs to animated videos, these lively designs will be incorporated into waste-related materials citywide, fostering intrigue and brand recognition.
Shellharbour City Mayor Chris Homer praised the initiative.
"Our new waste education campaign not only brightens up our streets with fantastic artwork but also plays a crucial role in educating our community about proper waste management," he said.
"By making waste fun and engaging, we're fostering a culture of sustainability that will benefit Shellharbour for years to come."
Say goodbye to dull rules. The campaign bids farewell to the old "do's and don'ts" of waste management. Instead, it welcomes residents to a world where sorting trash is as automatic as sipping your morning coffee.
"It's been an honour to collaborate with Shellharbour City Council on this project," said Bjarni from Happy Decay.
"I really enjoyed the creative messaging. The end work focuses on building a better understanding around our everyday rubbish and correctly sorting in a fun way!" he said.
"Picture this," suggested Mayor Homer. "Before you toss your plastic-lined take away cup into the bin, you envision our coffee cup shredding on her skateboard as she heads into the red waste bin."
With its catchy tagline and tailored messages for each waste stream, "Waste: Let's Get it Sorted" aims to simplify waste sorting while injecting a dose of fun into daily routines.
In a world where rubbish bins have become canvases of creativity, Shellharbour City Council's new campaign promises to lead the way towards a cleaner, greener future for all.
