Get Trashed!

"It's better to inspire than to guilt," says Global Inheritance founder Eric Ritz. "People only feel guilt for so long and then they move on. Our goal is to empower and inspire."

Ritz is talking about the motivation behind TRASHed :: Art of Recycling, a campaign in which artists, musicians and athletes redesign recycling bins for display at major events like Coachella, the Grammys, the ESPN X-Games, Virgin Festival and Monster Energy Supercross. With new creations debuting at each event, most bins are later donated to local schools to inspire future recyclers. Past bin designers include Fugazi, blink-182, Hunter S. Thompson, photographer Cobra Snake, skater Bob Burnquist and Entourage's Adriene Grenier.

"We want people to have a positive experience that hopefully translates into more recycling and a stronger connection to what they do individually for the environment," adds Ritz. "Plus, people are more inclined to photograph themselves with really cool recycling bins than with an ugly blue one."

The Bins

(Commentary by Eric Ritz)

Renné Lawter is a watercolorist who went to the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. Her trademark plush-based bins are soft, furry and fan friendly. Reneé's bins seem to bring back childhood memories. If we had to ship a bin to Alice in Wonderland, it would be one of hers.

Bobby Holland is a tattoo artist in Bakersfield and an art director for the fashion company RZST. The messaging behind his bins tends to be dualistic with elements of beauty and darkness.

Matt Brady's bin is a perfect example of going above and beyond. His recycling bin enters a new dimension. It's Extreme Makeover-meets-U.S. Navy. Matt's submarine bin is currently submerged off the coast of Iran. Look out!

Rene Garcia Jr. is a pop artist from San Francisco. He's done exhibits with Diesel, Netflix and the Obama camp, among others. Rene's pieces are always high in demand and the most likely to get ripped off before the festival's last day.

Scott Richards and Randy Noborikawa are two artists from Quiksilver. This is one of the original bins we did for our first appearance at Coachella in 2004.

Steven Lopez is one of our pioneer artists having worked on TRASHed since Day One. Although we both attended University of Oregon, we never crossed paths during school or at a Dead show. Steven is known for his workshops with kids teaching the finer points of art. One of his more recent victories was designing the winning recycling bin for Adrian Grenier's environmental TV show Alter Eco.

Want to design a bin for Coachella? Send artwork samples and a design concept to coachella@globalinheritance.org. Up to 24 artists will be chosen to redesign recycling bins and receive VIP tickets to see their work on display at this year's festival.