Global tech reseller musicMagpie carves big recycling message for G7 leaders

A huge Mount Rushmore style sculpture depicting the G7 leaders made of electronic waste has been erected in Cornwall ahead of this week’s G7 Summit.

Commissioned by Stockport based tech reseller musicMagpie, ‘Mount Recyclemore’ is designed to highlight the damage caused to the planet from electronic waste and the excessive disposal of devices that could otherwise be reconditioned and reused. The G7 leaders depicted in the sculpture are: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Joe Biden.

The work of avid environmental campaigner and sculptor Joe Rush, Mount Recylemore stares out from a highly visible location across the water from the Carbis Bay Hotel that will play host to the G7 summit from this Friday June 11^th to Monday 13^th catching the eye of world leaders and delivering a clear environmental message.

Sculptor Joe Rush wanted to highlight the fact that manufacturers need to produce goods that are more easily repairable, reusable or recyclable to reduce landfill. Commenting on the BBC website, Mr Rush added:

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.

“The key message is ‘talk to each other’ and let’s sort this mess out.”

CEO of musicMagpie Steve Oliver, who was in Carbis Bay to view the work of art his company commissioned, is determined to drive home the message that, a disposable world is a non-sustainable world:

“We are a UK-based tech business at the forefront of the global recommerce revolution, allowing customers to both sell to and buy from a service that is smart for them, and smart for the planet. 95% of the products we receive from customers are either refurbished or their parts reused to refurbish other products, supporting the reduction of e-waste globally and the mining for precious metals used in new tech. That is our business model.

“We want the world leaders to adapt their own global business model and adopt policies that will save our planet and protect the environment”

*According to a United Nations report, more than 53 million tonnes of e-waste was generated worldwide in 2019 – over 9 million tonnes more than five years earlier.