Pick A Piece Of Rubbish
Although I do not like eating Plastic Soup, I love to pick the little pieces of plastic, iron, glass, polystyrine etc. out of nature, before they are eaten by animals, or just buried in the stoney beaches.
And: I like to categorize what I find and make art out of it!
Plastic Soup, or a garbage patch, is a catchy word for the incredible amount of marine debris in our planets oceans. The longer plastic is in the water, the smaller it becomes. And in the end it's called microplastic: mostly it is said that the pieces are smaller than 5mm.
Many animals (birds, fish) often mistake these pieces for plankton.
I could write pages of information about details, but this place is not meant for that. More information you can find on our facebook page PickAPieceOfRubbish.
Plastic Soup is a global problem but local challenge: in the Pacific, but also in the fjord of Oslo, Norway. Big garbage, like bottles or fishing nets are easy to remove. But for little pieces, just before they become microplast, you need to get down on your knees. And that is exactly what I like!
I enjoy working in almost all weather conditions. I enjoy working hard and I enjoy making art out of the debris that I find.
I will work on 2 beaches in Oslo's fjord:
- Bygdøyness is a tiny beach (behind Kontiki Museum) where many tourists take a break from visiting museums. Here I as often as possible talk with and inform people from all corners of the world. Because of the incoming tides there is always a lot of small marine debris.
- Nakkholmen, several beaches on the island. Here are not many tourists, but lot's of birds and a lot (!) of garbage.
So I want to be on my knees this coming summer, but I also want to support my family. So I am asking for your help: not on my knees, but as someone who loves nature and strongly believes that trash is not nature's responsibility but ours!
My ultimate dream is that I work all year through on different beaches in the world, picking up marine debris and raising awareness prefarably with a hundred people joining me on their knees.
My Goal at Indiegogo
To have this ultimate dream is important for me, but here at Indiegogo I am aiming for a month on the beach to clean. So I took the average month salary of a cleaner in Norway:
Cleaners in Norway - Their salary varies depending on whether they are working privately or in the community, but in the municipality about 130 NOK per hour, ie 25,350 (€ 3,363.84) per month.
I decided that € 3,333 (25,126.62 NOK) was a better sound bite.
This includes tax (they love that here in Norway) and expenses like travelling, gloves, cleaning tools etc., marketing, administration, fees at Indiegogo and making the art works.
Ways To Support
First of all I think it is necessary to realize our global challenge with marine debris. Plastic that is not disposed in a correct way will often find a way to water. Through the sewage system and storm drains, creeks and rivers, it finds its way to our seas and oceans.
Birds, fishes, shrimps and even polar bears have often our rubbish in their bodies.
So the first way of support is to take care of your trash and pick up a piece of rubbish every now and then.
A second way is to take some hours to clean a beach or a river side. Or even a storm drain.
And you can support me!
On the right side of this page you see the perks.
Basically there are 2 categories:
- I send you an image or a movie (digitally) or a physical artwork (by mail) as a thank you
- You make an amount of time on the beach possible, without a physical artwork. Gratitude is your reward!
Finally, I would really, really appreciate it if you spread the word through facebook, twitter and to all of your email contacts.
I can work more than one month!
Thank you kindly...
Johan