Maria Lisa Polegatto December 2025
(credit: Maria Lisa Polegatto)
Sustainable Creativity: Repurposing Junk into Creative Art
Introduction
Every day, waste, junk, trash, garbage, discarded or abandoned items, or debris (“junk”) ends up in landfills, making its way to all ecosystems, including wild areas (Polegatto, 2020). This junk can travel to rivers, streams, and marine environments due to inadequate recycling techniques, floods, and natural disasters (European Journal of Environment and Earth Sciences, 2025). This is detrimental to nature and species (Environment, 2025), which includes humanity.
Each year “19-23 million tonnes” of plastic pollution ends up contaminating water sources altering habitats, nature, ability of adaption of ecosystems to respond to climate change, affecting humanity’s livelihood, food production and societies well being (Environment, 2025). In terms of “municipal solid waste” humanity “generates between 2.1… and 2.3 billion tonnes” per year (UN Environment Programme, n.d.).
In 2020, earth’s tipping points were crossed where “the total mass of all human-made objects – totaling 1.2 trillion metric tons – surpassed the total biomass of all living things on Earth” of which the plastic portion was only made in the last 100 years (The Pew Charitable Trusts, 2025).
Every day, waste, junk, trash, garbage, discarded or abandoned items, or debris (“junk”) ends up in landfills, making its way to all ecosystems, including wild areas (Polegatto, 2020). This junk can travel to rivers, streams, and marine environments due to inadequate recycling techniques, floods, and natural disasters (European Journal of Environment and Earth Sciences, 2025). This is detrimental to nature and species (Environment, 2025), which includes humanity.
Each year “19-23 million tonnes” of plastic pollution ends up contaminating water sources altering habitats, nature, ability of adaption of ecosystems to respond to climate change, affecting humanity’s livelihood, food production and societies well being (Environment, 2025). In terms of “municipal solid waste” humanity “generates between 2.1… and 2.3 billion tonnes” per year (UN Environment Programme, n.d.).
In 2020, earth’s tipping points were crossed where “the total mass of all human-made objects – totaling 1.2 trillion metric tons – surpassed the total biomass of all living things on Earth” of which the plastic portion was only made in the last 100 years (The Pew Charitable Trusts, 2025).
Plastic pollution (credit: Maria Lisa Polegatto)
Junk Ownership
I often hear people blaming manufacturers, retailers, or corporations for junk in environments. But the truth is simple: junk is two-fold and each of us is responsible for the junk we create and dispose of. Yes, we need junk to be produced in ways that can easily degrade and be eco-friendly. But, we can’t blame waste landing in nature on producers when they didn’t throw it there.
Once an item is purchased, it becomes that new owner’s responsibility to use and dispose of it properly, which includes any junk that comes with a product. Whether it’s a drink cup, plastic wrapper, plastic bottle, or packaging, it’s up to each person to ensure junk is recycled, repurposed, and/or disposed of safely and properly.
Throwing junk out a vehicle window, leaving it at parks, or dumping it in public spaces only adds to the problem. It can also have far reached devastation - such as a lit cigarette bud causing a forest fire, plastic bags suffocating species, or balloons wrapping around species and strangling them. Death should not be the result of junk. There should instead be junk mitigation.
I often hear people blaming manufacturers, retailers, or corporations for junk in environments. But the truth is simple: junk is two-fold and each of us is responsible for the junk we create and dispose of. Yes, we need junk to be produced in ways that can easily degrade and be eco-friendly. But, we can’t blame waste landing in nature on producers when they didn’t throw it there.
Once an item is purchased, it becomes that new owner’s responsibility to use and dispose of it properly, which includes any junk that comes with a product. Whether it’s a drink cup, plastic wrapper, plastic bottle, or packaging, it’s up to each person to ensure junk is recycled, repurposed, and/or disposed of safely and properly.
Throwing junk out a vehicle window, leaving it at parks, or dumping it in public spaces only adds to the problem. It can also have far reached devastation - such as a lit cigarette bud causing a forest fire, plastic bags suffocating species, or balloons wrapping around species and strangling them. Death should not be the result of junk. There should instead be junk mitigation.
Light bulb found in nature (credit: Maria Lisa Polegatto)
Creative Reuse of Junk
Instead of misusing junk, we can instead reimagine it as a resource. We need to change our ways of being that benefit the environment. This can also lead to society coming together to collaboratively work on this issue. No act is too small to help.
Junk is what we consider to be “an object of low quality, little worth, and reduced value”, but that junk can still be useable – which is why junk can be both “a risk, but also an opportunity” and that junk can instead be valued through the process of “recycling or reuse” (Teixeira da Silva J. A., 2022).
Some common junk items and their creative ideas include:
The reuse of junk is a way to reclaim what would otherwise become part of the existing global crisis – giving junk a second life. The more we reuse, the less we throw away — and the smaller our environmental footprint becomes.
Instead of misusing junk, we can instead reimagine it as a resource. We need to change our ways of being that benefit the environment. This can also lead to society coming together to collaboratively work on this issue. No act is too small to help.
Junk is what we consider to be “an object of low quality, little worth, and reduced value”, but that junk can still be useable – which is why junk can be both “a risk, but also an opportunity” and that junk can instead be valued through the process of “recycling or reuse” (Teixeira da Silva J. A., 2022).
Some common junk items and their creative ideas include:
- Glass jars can be used to hold items, including preserves and dehydrated food.
- Cardboard boxes can be used as a base in the garden retaining moisture in a much-needed warning environment.
- Plastic bottles can be used as garden watering tools.
- Old clothing can be repurposed into reusable cleaning cloths or up cycled for crafts or thrifted.
- Paper scraps can be shredded for compost, fire starters, or handmade recycled paper.
- Items from restaurants, hotels, places we travel to, can be used to make creative junk journals to save memories and the environment at the same time.
- Plastic cups can be used to hold water when making art.
The reuse of junk is a way to reclaim what would otherwise become part of the existing global crisis – giving junk a second life. The more we reuse, the less we throw away — and the smaller our environmental footprint becomes.
Canadian Maple Leaf (credit: Maria Lisa Polegatto)
Junk Journaling
One way to reuse junk is to make junk journals by reusing materials that would otherwise be discarded. The great thing about junk journals is there is no wrong way to do them and everyone can use the same materials and have a different result.
I made a junk journal from my favorite fast-food restaurant packaging and the winner of my local Community Choice Awards - Wendy’s Restaurant, and it turned into:
While journaling and junk journals is not a new concept, we need to take a new view of what junk is and whether it is really junk or artistic supplies that can be used for purposes other than was originally intended.
I started to look at my junk creatively and instead saw letters, words, images, colors, patterns, designs, ideas that I could transform into art. We can innovate the future with today’s junk – that’s creative but also a way to turn junk into a sustainable option to:
The UN SDG’s include 17 sustainable development goals across all ecosystems – air, water, land (United Nations, n.d.). While Wendy’s already achieves various SDG goals in relation to:
(Wendy’s, 2024), the support and participating in the use of their packaging for creative uses would add to their SDG achievements connecting ecosystems without needing to add or change their packaging to produce more packaging or designing.
In this way, there can be a collaborative understanding and use of junk between producer, user, and community, including a social connection.
One way to reuse junk is to make junk journals by reusing materials that would otherwise be discarded. The great thing about junk journals is there is no wrong way to do them and everyone can use the same materials and have a different result.
I made a junk journal from my favorite fast-food restaurant packaging and the winner of my local Community Choice Awards - Wendy’s Restaurant, and it turned into:
- a creative chronicle of the year.
- saved what most discard as junk.
- sparked an interest for me to examine junk being used for innovative sustainability without prior intention.
- research noted the “foil-coated paper should be used in place of plastic packaging materials” (European Journal of Environment and Earth Sciences, 2025) which is decorative in a junk journal.
While journaling and junk journals is not a new concept, we need to take a new view of what junk is and whether it is really junk or artistic supplies that can be used for purposes other than was originally intended.
I started to look at my junk creatively and instead saw letters, words, images, colors, patterns, designs, ideas that I could transform into art. We can innovate the future with today’s junk – that’s creative but also a way to turn junk into a sustainable option to:
- Use junk as a free artistic supply.
- Educate people in ways to participate in a more sustainable future.
- Innovate ways to produce packaging.
- Use junk to encourage people to practice sustainability.
- Contribute to various SDGs – air, water, land.
The UN SDG’s include 17 sustainable development goals across all ecosystems – air, water, land (United Nations, n.d.). While Wendy’s already achieves various SDG goals in relation to:
- Food – 2-zero hunger; 12-responsible consumption & production
- Footprint – 9-industry, innovation and infrastructure; 13-climate action; 15-life on land
- People – 8-decent work & economic growth; 10-reduced inequalities; 17-partnerships for the goals
(Wendy’s, 2024), the support and participating in the use of their packaging for creative uses would add to their SDG achievements connecting ecosystems without needing to add or change their packaging to produce more packaging or designing.
In this way, there can be a collaborative understanding and use of junk between producer, user, and community, including a social connection.
Junk Sources and Creativity
There are a variety of uses for junk to enter our lives instead of being buried in our environment. Some sources you can be creative with:
You can add your own creative flair to your journals or art so the overlooked is instead unforgettable:
The idea is to reuse existing waste creatively instead of adding more junk into the environment. Look at your junk - there are words, designs, letters, colors on them you can creatively use?
Corporate packaging is designed with a great deal of time and creativity - why waste it.
There are a variety of uses for junk to enter our lives instead of being buried in our environment. Some sources you can be creative with:
- Book covers or pages
- Envelopes – new or used
- Junk mail
- Fabric scraps
- Toilet paper rolls
- Packing paper, plastic, or foil
- Magazines and flyers
- Receipts and ticket stubs
- Brown paper bags
- Restaurant packaging, ie: wrappers, bags, packaging, promotions
- Hotels
- Food boxes
- Candy wrappers
You can add your own creative flair to your journals or art so the overlooked is instead unforgettable:
- Drawing and doodling
- Painting, watercolor, color pencils
- DIY collage pages
- Spirograph and stencils
- Yarns and string
- Stamps with eco ink
- Glue sticks instead of toxic glue
- DIY notebooks with scrap paper
The idea is to reuse existing waste creatively instead of adding more junk into the environment. Look at your junk - there are words, designs, letters, colors on them you can creatively use?
Corporate packaging is designed with a great deal of time and creativity - why waste it.
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Community Responsibility
Junk mitigation is a shared effort. Picking up litter when you see it, recycling correctly, and reducing unnecessary purchases all make a difference. But real change happens when each person takes ownership of their impact and leads by example.
When we treat waste as a personal responsibility, we protect not only our environment but also our communities and future generations. Leaving at a store the box or packaging to be disregarded or taking it home and reusing it sustainably can help.
While I was at the ocean one day having a snack with my dog at our vehicle after enjoying the many healing benefits of nature (Polegatto, 2024). A vehicle drove up, the person got out, coffee cup in hand, walked forward into nature returning with comment “there’s nothing here” with coffee cup missing! I was speechless. Obviously, they discarded the coffee cup in nature – where it would land in the ocean and didn’t see the obvious - they were in nature, not a state of nothingness.
I often go deep into nature for the awe and wonder of the natural world. I am refreshed, rejuvenated and resilient in nature as it restores me. There are many benefits of being in nature from using our senses, the ecological shield to experiencing better wellness.
Nature is a part of us, and we are a part of nature. We need to live in synergy with nature. With the changing and unpredictable weather, fires, floods, we are well beyond the need to mitigate the effects of climate change. If we don’t respect nature, it can’t support us by filtering the air, cleaning the water, and freely fertilizing the land (Polegatto, 2024) all while interconnecting with all ecosystems and species (Polegatto, 2020).
Junk mitigation is a shared effort. Picking up litter when you see it, recycling correctly, and reducing unnecessary purchases all make a difference. But real change happens when each person takes ownership of their impact and leads by example.
When we treat waste as a personal responsibility, we protect not only our environment but also our communities and future generations. Leaving at a store the box or packaging to be disregarded or taking it home and reusing it sustainably can help.
While I was at the ocean one day having a snack with my dog at our vehicle after enjoying the many healing benefits of nature (Polegatto, 2024). A vehicle drove up, the person got out, coffee cup in hand, walked forward into nature returning with comment “there’s nothing here” with coffee cup missing! I was speechless. Obviously, they discarded the coffee cup in nature – where it would land in the ocean and didn’t see the obvious - they were in nature, not a state of nothingness.
I often go deep into nature for the awe and wonder of the natural world. I am refreshed, rejuvenated and resilient in nature as it restores me. There are many benefits of being in nature from using our senses, the ecological shield to experiencing better wellness.
Nature is a part of us, and we are a part of nature. We need to live in synergy with nature. With the changing and unpredictable weather, fires, floods, we are well beyond the need to mitigate the effects of climate change. If we don’t respect nature, it can’t support us by filtering the air, cleaning the water, and freely fertilizing the land (Polegatto, 2024) all while interconnecting with all ecosystems and species (Polegatto, 2020).
Final Thought
Waste doesn’t walk itself into nature — people forget it there, throw it there, dump it there.
Let’s start being part of the solution. Every piece of waste handled properly is one less threat to humanity, wildlife, ecosystems, and the planet we all share.
Let’s innovate a cleaner, creative, beautiful future where sustainability becomes a way of life.
Waste doesn’t walk itself into nature — people forget it there, throw it there, dump it there.
Let’s start being part of the solution. Every piece of waste handled properly is one less threat to humanity, wildlife, ecosystems, and the planet we all share.
Let’s innovate a cleaner, creative, beautiful future where sustainability becomes a way of life.
(credit: Maria Lisa Polegatto)
Call to Action
Every scrap of junk has a story – reusing junk invites that story to speak again. I challenge you to look at “junk” creatively and create new sustainable ways of being. Reuse the used and use it again.
Remember, sustainability isn’t perfection – it’s paying attention, experimenting, and creatively innovating ways of being that honor nature, and ultimately support humanity.
Every scrap of junk has a story – reusing junk invites that story to speak again. I challenge you to look at “junk” creatively and create new sustainable ways of being. Reuse the used and use it again.
- What projects have you created using discarded or overlooked materials?
- Has this post inspired you to use junk in a new, creative way?
Remember, sustainability isn’t perfection – it’s paying attention, experimenting, and creatively innovating ways of being that honor nature, and ultimately support humanity.
Wendy's Junk Journal (credit: Maria Lisa Polegatto). If video does not work - use this Link.
References
Environment, U. (2025). Plastic pollution. UNEP. https://www.unep.org/plastic-pollution?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Polegatto, M. L. (2020). Deep dive into the ocean ecosystem with the Giants. Adobe Express. https://express.adobe.com/page/cpDgtpT3qInrL/
Polegatto, M. L. (2024, March). Genius hour project: The interconnectedness of acorns, ecosystems and humanity. MARIA LISA POLEGATTO. https://www.marialisapolegatto.com/sustainability/genius-hour-project-the-interconnectedness-of-acorns-ecosystems-and-humanity
Teixeira da Silva J. A. (2022). Junk Science, Junk Journals, and Junk Publishing Management: Risk to Science's Credibility. Philosophia (Ramat-Gan, Israel), 1–4. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11406-022-00590-0
The Effects of Plastic and Microplastic Waste on the Marine Environment and the Ocean. (2025). European Journal of Environment and Earth Sciences, 6(3), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.24018/ejgeo.2025.6.3.508
The Pew Charitable Trusts. (2025, December 3). Breaking the plastic wave 2025. https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/reports/2025/12/breaking-the-plastic-wave-2025?utm_source=chatgpt.com
United Nations. (n.d.). The 17 goals | sustainable development. United Nations. https://sdgs.un.org/goals#icons
Wendy’s 2024 corporate responsibility report. Wendy’s. (2024). https://s1.q4cdn.com/202642389/files/doc_downloads/2025/Wendys-2024-Corporate-Responsibility-Report.pdf
Polegatto, M. L. (2020). Deep dive into the ocean ecosystem with the Giants. Adobe Express. https://express.adobe.com/page/cpDgtpT3qInrL/
Polegatto, M. L. (2024, March). Genius hour project: The interconnectedness of acorns, ecosystems and humanity. MARIA LISA POLEGATTO. https://www.marialisapolegatto.com/sustainability/genius-hour-project-the-interconnectedness-of-acorns-ecosystems-and-humanity
Teixeira da Silva J. A. (2022). Junk Science, Junk Journals, and Junk Publishing Management: Risk to Science's Credibility. Philosophia (Ramat-Gan, Israel), 1–4. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11406-022-00590-0
The Effects of Plastic and Microplastic Waste on the Marine Environment and the Ocean. (2025). European Journal of Environment and Earth Sciences, 6(3), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.24018/ejgeo.2025.6.3.508
The Pew Charitable Trusts. (2025, December 3). Breaking the plastic wave 2025. https://www.pew.org/en/research-and-analysis/reports/2025/12/breaking-the-plastic-wave-2025?utm_source=chatgpt.com
United Nations. (n.d.). The 17 goals | sustainable development. United Nations. https://sdgs.un.org/goals#icons
Wendy’s 2024 corporate responsibility report. Wendy’s. (2024). https://s1.q4cdn.com/202642389/files/doc_downloads/2025/Wendys-2024-Corporate-Responsibility-Report.pdf
Junk Journal Word Art (credit: Maria Lisa Polegatto)
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