Eco-art comes to Five Points on Monday, where youth will work on building a Peace on EarthBench at the new Breakground community garden, which opened last week.
They’ll be using new technologies, making portable landfill devices — or bottle bricks — that will be used to create a bench built to resemble a boom box.
“It’s our thing,” said Davey Rogner of Pick Up America, which is teaching the technique to locals. “We like making art out of trash.”
For nearly three years, the crew of Pick Up America has been walking across the country, picking up trash and preaching the gospel of a zero-waste future. Since 2010, they’ve picked up more than 175,000 pounds of litter across 2,660 miles. Along the way, they’ve planted the seeds of environmental stewardship through eco-art, education and community outreach.
They’ll be in Denver for the next few weeks, working with people such as DJ Cavem Moetavation and the Urban Farm on various projects.
Last weekend, they started work on Denver’s first Peace on EarthBench at the Breakground, which is dedicated to military veterans and their families who call Five Points home.
“What’s exciting about this is that we’re giving Denver its trash back in the form of a bench,” said Jeff Chen, a co-founder of Pick Up America.
) works with local youth and community members to repurpose their trash into building materials, learn natural building methods and create a peaceful space.
The crew made bottle bricks with volunteers from and to make it cool to be healthy and socially conscious.
They stuffed 20-ounce plastic bottles with plastic trash, compressing the waste until it is as hard as brick.
On Monday, they’ll be making more bottle bricks.
On Tuesday, they will hold a community cobbing party, where they cover the bottle-brick foundation with cobb, a mix of sand, clay and straw that becomes a natural cement when mixed with water.
“It’s awesome, especially the music- vibe thing,” said Jason Torrez, director of programs for YouthBiz, which owns the land. “It’s very youth-oriented.”
The plan is to make the back of the bench look like a boom box, but instead of putting a dial in the middle, there will be a “truth window” that shows bottle bricks underneath.
The young entrepreneurs at YouthBiz are developing plans to turn the community garden area into a marketplace, where youth can sell products and farmers can sell fruits and vegetables.
“It’s a great opportunity to brand a space and open it up to a new culture,” Rogner said. “It’s exactly why we’re walking around picking up trash.”
Colleen O’Connor: 303-954-1083 or coconnor@denverpost.com
