Green campaign is given a head start
SEVEN giant heads landed outside Stockport station in an effort to raise awareness about e-waste.
The sculpture, called Mount Recyclemore, uses thousands of elements of electronic waste - from old cameras, mobile phones, and computers to recreate the leaders of G7 countries.
Originally constructed and displayed for the G7 conference in Cornwall where the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, and USA discussed major policy issues - the sculpture has been brought ‘home’ by MusicMagpie, its commissioner.
For Steve Oliver, who founded the company in Hazel Grove and is currently CEO at its town centre offices, the artwork is an example of what the borough ‘stands for’.
“I think we were so overwhelmed by the reaction it got when it was in Cornwall, it’s a consumer awareness campaign and it did just that,” he told the Express.
“If we can bring it home to Stockport and give Mount Recyclemore a second life, it’s very close to Stockport’s heart and desires and what we stand for as a borough.”
Council deputy leader Tom McGee added that the work will ‘help put Stockport on the map’.
Mount Recyclemore, a play on the iconic Mount Rushmore bearing the faces of four U.S. presidents, was officially opened on Wednesday, July 21, with the help of children from St Matthew’s Primary School, Edgeley.
It will be in place for eight weeks, over the school holidays, and features an interactive quiz for families to do on their phone, using a QR code on the plinth.
Once its display time is up, discussions are ‘ongoing’ as to how the piece will be disposed of - the Express understands this largely depends on the condition of the structure at the end of the run.
The installation of the work was partly funded by Stockport council, which used ‘a small proportion’ of a ‘government grant to assist with attracting footfall into the town centre’ to pay for the scaffolding supporting the heads.
Mount Recyclemore also acts as a physical vote of confidence that Stockport is a ‘good place to do business’, says Mr Oliver.
“Everything we want is here,” he adds, “it makes all the sense in the world to stay here.
“I summarise it as cost - it is cheaper here than Manchester, connectivity - with the transport links, and culture - that’s something the council, Totally Stockport, and the BID have worked really hard to improve on.
“That’s both daytime and nighttime economy look at what happens at the market and produce hall.”
Mount Recyclemore, along with the frog trail, is a sign of things to come, Coun McGee says.
“The fact that’s up and the frog trail in parallel, [will mean] you’ll have loads of kids in the next six weeks coming down here, chasing a frog - then it’s like ‘what’s that?’
“I think the combination of all that shows that we as a council are serious about being environmentally friendlier, it’s the start of a process.”
The unveiling of the artwork was met with a warm reception by both passers-by and those on social media, with one couple at Stockport Exchange saying it was ‘brilliant’.
Other fans include The Lord Goddard, Baron of Stockport, who tweeted that it was ‘absolutely superb’.