As part of Cruinniú na nÓg 2021, Every Can Counts and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (DLR) will be hosting a live art event, encouraging passers-by to help create a huge rainbow artwork made entirely of 1,911 empty drink cans.
The colourful installation is the first-ever PixelCan artwork in Ireland and will measure two metres high and six metres wide. It will be built throughout the day from painted recycled cans, with the aim of raising awareness of recycling and encouraging people to recycle their empty drink cans.
Speaking on the upcoming event, An Cathaoirleach, Councillor Una Power stated:
“This is a wonderful initiative and I am delighted that DLR is the first in Ireland to partake in such an event. I look forward to seeing the creativity of our young people on show when the project is finished and presented at Cruinniú na nÓg on the 12th of June.”
The community event will take place from 12pm – 5pm on Saturday, 12th June, at Myrtle Square (Bloomfields Shopping Centre) in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin. Saturday 12th June is Cruinniú na nÓg Day, a national day of free creativity for children and young people. This is just one of the 40+ events DLR will be hosting online and outdoors that day.
Also attending on the day will be County Kildare family band, The Mahers, who will help to create the installation as well as performing their ‘Lullaby For The World’ track which calls for climate action.
The cans used in the artwork were collected from the town and beaches throughout the region during a mass beach clean on World Environment Day (5th June). This clean-up event was in partnership with volunteers from Tidy Towns Dún Laoghaire, Flossie and the Beach Cleaners, and formed part of Every Can Count’s European Recycling Tour which simultaneously ran in 19 countries across the continent to inspire ‘on the go’ recycling.
Róisín O’Brien, Every Can Counts Ireland Programme Manager, said:
“We’re really excited to be involved in this year’s Cruinniú na nÓg’s celebrations. Not only is our rainbow PixelCan artwork a great way to bring people together again after a long year of restrictions, but it’s a fun and visual way to remind people about the importance of recycling.”
Every Can Counts is a unique partnership formed between drink can manufacturers and the wider recycling industry, all with the goal of reaching a 100% recycling rate for drinks cans.
Ireland has one of the highest aluminium drink can recycling rates in Europe, with 89% of cans in the country being recycled or recovered in 2019.
