Mount Recyclemore: Art, Activism, and the Global Threat of E-Waste

A monumental e-waste sculpture urges world leaders and citizens to address the urgent electronic waste crisis.

By Medha deb

Created on Sep 27, 2025

A monumental e-waste sculpture urges world leaders and citizens to address the urgent electronic waste crisis.

Mount Recyclemore: Turning Electronic Waste into a Wake-Up Call

Just across the sparkling waters from Carbis Bay, where the G7 summit gathered global leaders, an imposing sculpture loomed into sight: Mount Recyclemore. Crafted from towers of discarded smartphones, laptops, keyboards, and other e-waste, the artwork depicted the faces of Boris Johnson, Yoshihide Suga, Emmanuel Macron, Mario Draghi, Justin Trudeau, Angela Merkel, and Joe Biden gazing back at their real-life counterparts.

The Story Behind Mount Recyclemore

Commissioned by the tech refurbishing company musicMagpie and brought to life by renowned artist Joe Rush—with contributions from fellow sculptor Alex Wreckage and the Mutoid Waste Company—the installation sought to do more than just capture attention over the Cornish coastline.

Purpose: To starkly highlight the exploding threat of global electronic waste (e-waste) and its environmental consequences.
Design: Modeled after the U.S.’s Mount Rushmore, but with a twist—every inch constructed from discarded electronics.
Visibility: Strategically placed opposite Carbis Bay Hotel so the G7 leaders couldn’t look away from the message—nor could the world’s media.

As Rush himself explained, “We have this looking at them and hopefully we’re going to prick their conscience and make them realise they’re all together in this waste business.”

Depicting the G7: Leaders Set in E-Waste

The sculpture depicted the following world leaders, left to right:

Boris Johnson (United Kingdom Prime Minister)
Yoshihide Suga (Japan Prime Minister)
Emmanuel Macron (France President)
Mario Draghi (Italy Prime Minister)
Justin Trudeau (Canada Prime Minister)
Angela Merkel (Germany Chancellor)
Joe Biden (United States President)

This creative choice mirrored the ideals of Mount Rushmore in the U.S., turning familiar faces into a powerful statement about responsibility and action in an interconnected world.

Why Target Electronic Waste?

Electronic waste includes discarded computers, phones, tablets, household appliances, and myriad other devices that define modern life. It is currently the fastest-growing waste stream on the planet.

Waste Source	Annual E-Waste (million tons)	Share of Global Total
Global (all countries)	53 (2019-2021 est.)	100%
G7 Countries Combined	15.9	~30%
United States	6.9	~13%
Japan	2.6	~5%
Germany	1.6	~3%
United Kingdom	1.6	~3%

The United Nations predicts the volume of e-waste could double by 2050 unless trends change. Of the 59 million tons produced in 2019, only 17.4% was properly recycled.

What Makes E-Waste Dangerous?

Hazardous substances: E-waste often contains toxic materials like mercury, lead, flame retardants, and chlorofluorocarbons, which can contaminate ecosystems and harm human health if not handled properly.
Loss of critical resources: Many devices use rare metals such as gold, silver, lithium, and cobalt. Improper disposal squanders these resources and increases demand for damaging mining.
Landfill impact: When electronics are dumped instead of recycled, they leak toxins into soil and water. Parts that could be reused or refurbished are lost forever.

Sculpting Awareness: The Art of Environmental Conscience

Joe Rush is no stranger to turning waste into headlines. Through the Mutoid Waste Company, Rush has long fused art with activism, working with everyone from iconic fashion designer Vivienne Westwood to the Rolling Stones. His installations use the unexpected medium of trash to challenge viewers and ignite public dialogue.

With Mount Recyclemore, the symbolism is inescapable: the leaders who ostensibly hold the keys to policies and regulations stare out from mountains of the stuff their nations throw away, daring themselves and their citizens to face what they leave behind.

A Timely Message on the World Stage

By choosing the G7 Summit as its forum, Mount Recyclemore’s creators capitalized on a rare convergence of media, policymakers, and the global public. The installation served not just as a symbol, but as an urgent call:

Encourage repairable design: Push manufacturers to make devices that are easier to repair, upgrade, or recycle.
Strengthen recycling infrastructure: Develop more facilities and protocols to capture and safely process e-waste.
Educate the public: Raise awareness about the dangers and opportunities inherent in end-of-life electronics.

“It needs to be repairable or made to last longer because the stuff is going into landfill,” Rush emphasized.

The Role of musicMagpie and WasteAid

musicMagpie, the commissioning business, specializes in refurbishing and reselling used consumer technology. Their commitment extends beyond commerce, pairing the Mount Recyclemore campaign with social impact. They partnered with WasteAid, a charitable organization providing low-cost waste management solutions in less developed countries.

Their combined efforts aim to:

Expand access to safe e-waste processing outside wealthy nations
Promote sustainable business models built around reusing and repairing devices
Pressure both manufacturers and consumers to share responsibility for electronics’ full lifecycle

Public Awareness: The Knowledge Gap

Despite mounting evidence of the harms, many people remain unaware of what e-waste is, or how to handle it. A musicMagpie survey showed that four out of five Brits did not understand the term “e-waste” or the environmental damage it causes.

Public education campaigns are lagging behind the rate at which electronics enter every home, school, and office.
This lack of awareness makes policy change and recycling program uptake slow, despite mounting urgency.

Addressing the E-Waste Crisis: Solutions and Opportunities

Mount Recyclemore’s glare highlights not only a growing problem but also pathways toward real solutions. These include:

Design for durability and repair: Encouraging solid regulations that require products to last longer and allow do-it-yourself or third-party repairs.
Repair-friendly policies: Legislation based on the “right to repair” movement, giving consumers and independent shops access to manuals, parts, and tools.
Scaling recycling: Building and upgrading facilities to safely process e-waste, capturing valuable metals and safely neutralizing toxic components.
Producer responsibility: Holding manufacturers accountable for take-back programs or recycling the products they sell.
International collaboration: The G7 and other global forums providing the leadership to set standards and exchange best practices.
Grassroots activism: Engaging communities, artists, and organizations in changing the cultural perception of electronics ownership and disposability.

Homage, Parody, and Artistic Impact

By mimicking the iconic Mount Rushmore, Mount Recyclemore not only invokes familiar symbolism but also subverts it. Instead of immortality through stone, these leaders’ legacies are rendered in materials that may outlast us for the wrong reasons. The work is a parable, urging us to rethink the nature of progress and leadership in the 21st century.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Why was Mount Recyclemore constructed?

A: Mount Recyclemore was built to draw international attention to the massive and growing problem of electronic waste, especially from wealthy countries, and to nudge world leaders to implement stronger measures for e-waste management and recycling.

Q: Who created Mount Recyclemore?

A: The sculpture was designed and assembled by artist Joe Rush, with assistance from sculptor Alex Wreckage, commissioned by musicMagpie, in partnership with WasteAid.

Q: What materials were used in the sculpture?

A: The faces of the G7 leaders were constructed using discarded electronics such as old computers, phones, circuit boards, and various electronic components.

Q: Why is e-waste a pressing environmental issue?

A: E-waste contains hazardous materials and rare metals. Poorly managed, it pollutes ecosystems and endangers human health. Insufficient recycling means valuable materials are lost and mining for replacements intensifies environmental damage.

Q: How can I help reduce e-waste?

A: Choose durable products, repair instead of replacing, recycle electronics at certified facilities, buy refurbished devices, and support legislation for repairability and responsible recycling.

Conclusion: A Call to Global Responsibility

Mount Recyclemore stands as both a warning and an invitation. The sculpture’s watchful gaze challenges policymakers, industries, and everyday people to move beyond rhetoric and take concrete, coordinated action to stem the tide of e-waste. Only by embracing innovation, responsibility, and education can we ensure future generations aren’t left with mountains of our own making.

References

Author

medha deb

Medha Deb is an editor with a master's degree in Applied Linguistics from the University of Hyderabad. She believes that her qualification has helped her develop a deep understanding of language and its application in various contexts.

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