10 Famous Sculptures Made Of Recycled Metals

American citizens throw away about 3 lbs of garbage a day per individual. The amount of waste that we throw out is staggering and the effects on the environment are quite negative. As a part of an effort for a greener society, some artists make a big statement by composing work entirely out of recycled material. Here are 10 of the most famous recycled metal sculptures in the world and their stories:

1. The Peace Angel

In 1994 artist Lin Evola created the Renaissance Peace Angel in California to make a statement about illegal weapons, using firearms and the remnants of nuclear missiles. The sculpture is now on permanent display at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum.

2. Iron T-Rex

In honor of the largest T-Rex fossil ever found, Sue, artist John Lopez created the sculpture out of recycled iron. Created in 2008, the statue stands in Faith, South Dakota. Lopez’s first foray into working with scrap iron came while building a family cemetery, where his aunt would be the first person laid to rest.

3. The Forevertron

The Forevertron, built in the 1980’s is the largest recycled metal sculpture in the world. Built by Tom Every, using the name Dr. Evermor, is contains many historical scraps, including the decontamination chamber from Apollo 11. The sculpture, while moveable, is currently located in Sumpter, Wisconsin.

4. Very Hungry God

Very Hungry God by artist Subodh Gupta was created in 2006. Currently located in a private collection in Venice, Italy, the sculpture has spent time in London and Paris, as well. It is made of recycled kitchen items. Gupta was born in a small village in India and used similar tins to carry his food to school each day.

5. The Trash People

HA Shult set out to create an art exhibit that would highlight the amount of waste created by humanity. Using recycled parts from computers and cars, as well as aluminum cans, Shult made 1000 Trash People. It has travelled the world including Egypt, Russia and China.

6. MotorCycleMan

RoboSteel is an Ireland based company known for making art from recycled steel. Roboman is made entirely of recycled motorcycle parts. It was initially displayed at the Carole Nash International Motorcycle and Scooter Show.

7. Alien Replica

Created by Terrence Willment, this replica of a creature from Aliens is currently located in Willment’s car showroom in Slough, England. It is made entirely of old car parts.

8. Paladin

Created in 2010 by Bettye Hamblin Turner, Paladin is made out of car and motorcycle parts. It is named for the guardians of Ancient Rome and is symbolic of Texas, where it is located. Turner is actually formally trained in painting, but explores many mediums of artistic creation, including the Paladin.

9. Giant Metal Mosquito

Made of recycled car parts and scrap metal, this giant mosquito is located in Serbia. In the location that this sculpture is located, millions of mosquitoes inhabit the near-by swaps. Created by Russian sculptor, Valery Chaliy, it was installed at Gazprom in 2007. She claims the local swamps to be her inspiration for the creation.

10. Junk Elf

One of hundreds of sculptures by Switzerland artist and sculptor Tom Samui, this elf is created using old car parts. Samui reportedly goes to the junkyard once a month and picks up a truck load of recycled metal and old car parts. This and other took about 400 hours to create.

These artistic creations are both beautiful works of art and a reminder to us that we should be mindful of what we throw to waste and how we do it. The challenge: make an effort to recycle a higher percentage of your waste. And if you want to contribute to projects like these that happen all over the world, donate to a local metal recycling yard, like Greater Texas Metal Recycling.