Patricio Forrester’s Cowbin and the Art of Recycling

Here's a good way to put art to work for the environment. The Cowbin, an invention by Argentinean designer Patricio Forrester, was the star of a program embraced by Lewisham Council, Artmongers (a group of artists lead by the designer) and Source Communications to draw attention to the under-used recycling recipients by the concept “feed the cows with plastic bottles, cans, card, paper and glass”. “We are interested in how the public engages with a recycling facility that has been turned into public art -says Forrester in the Feed the Cow website-. Cows are seen as friendly animals and the principal of rumination and its production of milk are positive examples of recycling”. The public, actually, reacted pretty well: the cowbins increased the recycling amount by 62% in three months. Having seen that, the trash containers company Taylor bought the idea to give their trash bins the “cow-look” and distribute them across the UK in streets and schools. Motivated by this, Forrester opened in 2005 a company named Wonder Remedies - Artistic solutions for Recycling Industry. Find out more abut these in their websites. ::Feed the Cow ::Artmongers
Through Clarin Newspaper.