After a long journey to Indianapolis, Atelier Van Lieshout’s Funky Bones benches arrived last week and were unloaded on the grounds of 100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park.
Last month, 22 benches were packed in a 40 foot ocean-going freight container at the artist’s studio in Rotterdam. After an Atlantic ocean crossing, U.S. customs clearance, and a few truck trips, the container arrived at the park.
IMA staff assembled on the morning of arrival ready to unload and unpack. We opened the container to find each bench thoughtfully packed and placed within the container. As is typical with artwork in transit, extra materials were used to pad and protect each piece. However, given the size of the work, these “extra materials” amounted to a huge pile of Styrofoam.
Feeling a little guilty about leaving the Styrofoam in a dumpster for trash pickup, I began to ask coworkers if they knew of any places in Indy where we could take the foam to be recycled. Sure enough, just up the road from the IMA, we found exactly what we were looking for. We threw the first of two loads into an IMA Horticulture dump truck and headed to our destination.
Upon arrival, we were greeted by Mark Vandersall and the friendly staff at the Createc Corporation. After unloading the dump truck, Mark was kind enough to walk us through the process of recycling EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) Styrofoam.
Clean, white EPS Styrofoam is fed into the granulator (much like a wood chipper) where it is chopped up into small pieces. These pieces then accumulate in a large dustless bag. From there, they move down to the “densifier” which uses an auger and pressure to eliminate the air in the foam granules. The final product is a highly condensed “log.” These recycled “logs” can then be molded to make new products such as building insulation and product packaging.
Granulator Dustless bag Extrusion
To give you an idea of just how dense the materials become; our dump truck full of material was condensed into this:
One cubic foot of recycled Styrofoam. (iPhone added for scale)
This blog entry has a dual purpose:
I want to thank the IMA staff who helped in the process of getting the materials recycled. Thanks to Chad Franer, Laurie Gilbert, TJ Lemanski, and Scott Shoultz (who is now, if he wasn’t already, an expert dump truck driver). I’m glad to know that at the IMA, we are always striving for ways to be green.
I also want to spread the word that there is a great place in Indy that is more than happy to take unwanted EPS Styrofoam off your hands. Createc accepts clean, white, molded EPS (#6) Styrofoam Monday through Friday from 9-4.
Happy recycling!
Filed under: Art, Art and Nature Park
April 14th, 2010 at 10:40 am
Well said Lindsey.
April 14th, 2010 at 11:00 am
That’s awesome! I’m really impressed with how much it’s condensed. I never would have expected that much!
April 14th, 2010 at 1:26 pm
Great story…as a member of the IMA I really appreciate your efforts to be green. I am also looking forward to see the Funky Bones!
April 14th, 2010 at 1:27 pm
Yahoo!
April 14th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Most excellent! So proud of the effort, and am glad to know about Createc as well.
April 14th, 2010 at 1:55 pm
No doubt that this blog will be read by many who, when looking at the
volume of plastic and its reduction, will find this company a great source
when the need arises. I wondered, looking at the large amount in the
trailer, what that small block ended up _weighing_!
….Well thought out Lindsey… and well written!
April 14th, 2010 at 10:13 pm
That is awesome about quickly finding a solution to a somewhat noxious situation. Props for promoting a local business at the same time!! I would like to see this story incorporated into physical literature available to members and the public. I also can’t wait to see this piece installed during my next tour of 100 Acres!!
April 16th, 2010 at 10:09 am
Great story about how finding links to resources makes for real COMMUNITY and helps keep our planet healthy. Kudos to you, Lindsey!
April 16th, 2010 at 2:08 pm
We love Createc!!! So glad they’re in Indy!
April 17th, 2010 at 7:04 am
Thank heavens someone is doing something with all this trapped air! Good responsible thinking Lindsey.
April 18th, 2010 at 12:11 am
GREAT STORY AND PHOTOS. EQUALLY GREAT CREATIVE THINKING AND CARING ABOUT OUR WORLD. EVERYONE SHOULD SEE THIS. SEND IT TO CNN AND OTHERS. YEAAAA
LINDSEY!
April 18th, 2010 at 9:16 am
Wonderful work. I’m so proud of you…
May 14th, 2011 at 9:07 pm
A story with a happy ending! It’s nice to see art-making getting greener…
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