Art With a Purpose: Tennessee Aquarium’s Washed Ashore Exhibit
Nobody Trashes Tennessee is proud to sponsor Washed Ashore as part of the Aquarium’s 30th Anniversary. The new exhibit is comprised of a series of dramatic and beautiful sculptures. All created from litter, the exhibit helps shine a light on the problem of plastic litter in our waterways.
A Closer Look: Sculptures Made from Plastic Litter
The larger-than-life sculptures feature aquatic animals made from recovered plastic debris. They can be seen throughout the aquarium campus and the IMAX 3D Theater. They are open to the public through Oct. 30, 2022.
Among the brightly colored depictions of sea lions, sharks, jellyfish, sea otters and fish, it’s easy to recognize individual pieces of plastic that comprise them despite the beauty and whimsy of the finished pieces. Each piece is thought-provoking and shows us the vast amount of plastic litter that plagues our Tennessee rivers.
Shocking Stats Behind Litter and Plastic Waste
Every year, mankind produces about 300 million pounds of plastic, less than 10 percent of which is recycled. Much of that unrepurposed material languishes in landfills or is blown or washed into waterways, where it eventually makes its way to the ocean. Right here in Tennessee, there are more than 100 million pieces of litter on our roadways at any given time. It can pose a threat to both land and aquatic animals.
“The connections between roadside litter, water quality and aquatic systems cannot be overstated,” says Denise Baker, TDOT’s transportation program supervisor. “Since visible litter studies began in Tennessee, TDOT and its many community partners have been effective at decreasing the amount of roadside litter, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. This sponsorship with the Tennessee Aquarium will help get more people of all ages excited about cleaning up the litter that already exists and prevent more litter from piling up across the state of Tennessee.”
Read more about Washed Ashore at the Tennessee Aquarium here.
