Steve and I went down to Olympia tonight to check out the gray whale that was put together by school kids, made from 9000 plastic bags as well as a goodly number of plastic forks and fruit cups. It’s trash, but it’s art, and it comes with a strong message about what is recyclable and what isn’t and has plenty of good questions for anyone who’s paying attention. Do we really need these things? Single-use plastic bags, throw-away plastic cups. They aren’t recyclable (not really), they have no economic value and, because of that, they will end up in a landfill. Or in the ocean. Or on a beach somewhere.

This project was organized by the Thurston Solid Waste department and it took kids from 15 local elementary schools, 2 middle schools and a high school to put the whale together. It’s on display for the next couple of weeks at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts, 32 feet of braided bags and other plastic detritus hanging above the foyer. Check it out if you’re in the neighborhood… it might make you think about what is necessary and what is not.