Continental Wasting Project is pushing us to deeper layers

In March 2022, we set on the journey following rivers from European inland as they carry plastic waste to the ocean. We travelled along the coast witnessing plastic waste cumulated on the beaches and surrounding nature. 

We set up several improvised outdoor working stations as we went and created art objects and vases from traditional Prasklo materials - glass waste and raw concrete. 

This time however, we used polluted sand to prepare the concrete - containing plastic waste elements -  plastic bottles, pieces of fishing ropes or small plastic pieces that used be things disposed time ago somewhere in the world, brought by rivers to ocean falling apart, some ending up on beaches and cliffs. So we figured it might have been something we threw to bin in Prague, the wind took it to streets, the rain took it to rivers, and we found it now here. For the glass part, we used locally found glass waste.

We mixed the sand with local cement and in our improvised studio, following our traditional recipe with some new spices, we have made special collection from that carries the testimony of changing environment and one of challenges this generation struggles with. We named it Continental Wasting.

We come from a small, very centrally located country. Czech Republic, as we Czechs like to say, is in the heart of Europe -  you will hear the same from Swiss or Austrians. 

In general, we Czechs tend to have very narrow perspective limited to whatever happens within our little country. It is a great pity because it makes many Czechs believe that Czech Republic is the worst country in the world. Those Czechs who manage to broaden their perspective, however see, that living in Czech Republic is one of the most comfortable living in the world. They also see how much the most urgent topics of the world remain on the edge of public attention, in here.

And so another consequence of our limited perspective is that we care little about global environmental challenges. We are in the middle of the continent relatively well protected by mountains from weather extremes (although many Czechs would disagree saying we have had some of the worst disasters such as floods, droughts and one devastating tornado). Yes we believe we are really suffering but sustainability is rather a funny word to most of us. We have no coastline, no ocean.  

The tap water is 100 percent safe to drink, yet it is not considered fine to drink it. We drink water that we buy in supermarkets packed in plastic bottles. Maybe for the gas bubbles. We make coffee from capsules. The amount of disposed single use plastic items used every day is huge. The issue with plastic waste and excessive packaging standards is not in our heads, it does not concern us. The government is taking care - yellow containers to collect plastic waste are indeed on every corner.

The problem of plastic in oceans is not our problem.