A new type of street art has appeared in Burnham-On-Sea town centre to highlight the problem of packaging waste washed up on local beaches.
Burnham-On-Sea artist Jacob Dear’s work has appeared on the side of Calm coffee shop in Chapel Street, as pictured here, and is part of his ongoing environment project called ‘8 million tonnes’.
It documents the wide range of waste that washes up on Burnham-On-Sea, Berrow and Brean beaches and it aims to highlight the growing problem which will get worse if not addressed.
Jacob told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “The images in the art are all of waste that I have found locally during my project – the paper I have used is biodegradable, the ink is waterbased and paste is environmentally friendly. The idea is that they will degrade over time.”
“It’s the first time I have shown this artwork to the public, not in a gallery. I have put it up to hopefully provoke thoughts, discussion and encourage action at a local level to help reduce waste, in particular plastic.”
Jacob is a local artist who moved to the area when he was a child and went to King Alfred School in Highbridge.
He adds: “Society is to blame for waste – we all need to change, and end the cycle of wastefulness. If we can make a change at a local level, it will help make our town a better place.”
“We as a race we have a monumental problem with waste, we stick it in the ground, incinerate it and also dump it at sea. The problem only seems to be getting worse over time as shown on Blue Planet 2.”
“Eight million tonnes of waste is dumped in the sea each year, which is a huge amount that could be disposed in a way that doesn’t affect the marine life and our own coastline.”
“This body of work that was shoot three years ago in 2015 documents the diversity of the waste that is washed up on our beaches everyday. All the waste was collected on the coastline that stretches between Burnham-On-Sea and Brean Down.”
“Due to the massive uproar towards marine debris over the past couple of months, I felt it was time to show that the problem is only getting worse over time. Blue Planet 2 did a fantastic job bringing light to the marine debris.”
“We can all play our part in solving this problem. We are the ones who have the power to change our environment and to change what happens to our oceans. Think before you just through everything in a black bin; think whether you need another plastic bag and think before you just leave you waste on the beach.”
“Last July, the Environment Secretary pledged action on ocean plastics. This has now caused ripples through the political landscape, but I feel it still isn’t enough and the problem will only get worse unless we have a drastic change with how we mange our waste.”
Tiffany Louise Lin at Calm Coffee Bar said: “Jacob approached us with his idea of a collaboration. He explained the project and it really resonated with us at Calm.”
“Sustainability has always been at the forefront of what we do and we have made and are still making giant steps to minimise our waste as a business.”
“Eight million tonnes is a beautiful project, and Jacob’s artwork really carries a thought-provoking message. Everyone should come and check it out.”
