Sacramento Trash Artists

Sep 14, 2016 2:00 PM ET

In late August, a team of Republic Services of Sacramento employees and some of their family members competed in a contest called “Junk 2 Genius.” This is where teams in the competition are given a pile of garbage items, a theme, and two days to make a sculpture. There were 10 tens who competed this year.

The theme was: the future. While many other teams made robots, Republic Services team members decided to create an image of what the future should look like. Complete with a “Zero Waste” Republic Services recycling bin, a wind turbine and a solar panel, the team created a sustainable bio-dome on Mars. Other features include flying cars and rocket ships.

After being displayed in a local mall for two weeks, Republic Services sculpture won the Judges Choice award. By participating in this competition, Republic Services of Sacramento was able to donate money to the organization that hosts this event and promotes sustainability.