Whoever would have thought of stripping down guns and melting them to make shovels?
A man has, arguably, done the ultimate act of recycling in the city of Culiacán in western Mexico. The project, titled Palas por Pistolas (which means Shovels for Guns), started by visual artist Pedro Reyes, campaigned for residents to donate firearms to be repurposed into shovelheads, since they are both essentially made of the same material, to help the local botanic garden plant trees. In exchange, every gun donated would be traded for a coupon that they could use to buy electronics or household appliances.
[Image: Pedro Reyes]
It was no accident that Pedro chose Culiacán for this "disarming" project. Culiacán has one of the highest gun-related death rates in the entire country and has a prolific number of firearms. The project collected a total of 1,527 guns, of which 40% of them were automatics of military calibre.
The guns were sent to a military base and were publically smashed with a steamroller before being melted and reshaped into, you guessed it, 1,527 shovels with wooden handles. These shovels were distributed to art institutions and public schools in the community where people are planting Palas por Pistolas trees – at least 1,527 of them and definitely more.
[Image: Pedro Reyes]
Well, that's one way to campaign against gun violence and start promoting the plantings of trees in local gardens.
[Image: Pedro Reyes]
It isn't the first time Pedro has found a way to repurpose firearms; he has also turned them into musical instruments. Check out this cool video of the musical instruments in action:
We don't need to be doing recycling major projects like Pedro to make a difference. Every little bit count, from reusing glass jars to bringing your own recyclable bags to the grocery store!
[Header Image: Lori Ho]
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