{"id":336479,"date":"2026-03-09T06:19:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T06:19:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/336479\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T06:19:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T06:19:10","slug":"irelands-ancient-elk-is-reborn-to-spotlight-growing-problem-of-electronic-waste-during-st-patricks-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/336479\/","title":{"rendered":"Ireland\u2019s ancient elk is reborn to spotlight growing problem of electronic waste during St Patrick\u2019s Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

The sculpture, standing 4m tall and featuring 3.5m antlers, has been constructed to highlight \u201cIreland\u2019s hidden electrical waste\u201d.<\/p>\n

Dubbed the \u2018Trash EEE-lk\u2019, it is made up of more than 1,000 electrical items and components, including 80 circuit boards, 24 iPads and 28 plugs.<\/p>\n

The installation was designed by Irish artist Ned Leddy in a collaboration with the European Recycling Platform (ERP).<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

New Leddy with his creation. Photo: Barry Cronin<\/p>\n

Mr Leddy said he was delighted to take on \u201csuch an ambitious, creative and meaningful project\u201d, with the design inspired by the prehistoric Irish elk, which roamed Ireland thousands of years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea of resurrecting an ancient Irish creature using today\u2019s electronic waste immediately resonated with me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

“I hand-selected every piece of recycled material, choosing components that would add texture, scale and personality to the sculpture.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was fascinating to see discarded electronics transform into something so striking and symbolic. I hope \u2018Trash EEE-lk\u2019 inspires people to see waste differently while reconnecting us with our ancient past.\u201d<\/p>\n

We want to spark meaningful conversations about sustainability<\/p>\n

New research from ERP Ireland found chargers and cables, vapes and earphones are the items misdisposed of most often.<\/p>\n

The art installation aims to encourage people to dispose of electrical items properly by recycling them.<\/p>\n

Country general manager of ERP Ireland James Burgess said: \u201cBy reimagining the ancient Irish elk through modern electronic waste, we want to spark meaningful conversations about sustainability and encourage people to think differently about the electrical items in their homes.<\/p>\n

\"Electronic<\/p>\n

Electronic waste. Photo: Getty<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Trash EEE-lk\u2019 truly brings Ireland\u2019s lost elk \u2013 and invisible WEEE \u2013 back into view.\u201d<\/p>\n

St Patrick\u2019s Festival CEO Richard Tierney said: \u201cSustainability is one of our core organisational values, and it\u2019s an area where we are committed to leading by example.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have partnered with the European Recycling Platform for several years, and together we aim to inspire our communities to embrace responsible recycling practices and help pave the way for a greener future.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Trash EEE-lk\u2019 is a striking symbol with a simple message: small actions can change Ireland\u2019s waste story.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cTrash EEE-lk\u201d will be on display in St Patrick\u2019s Park in Dublin 8 from Saturday, March 14, to Monday, March 16.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The sculpture, standing 4m tall and featuring 3.5m antlers, has been constructed to highlight \u201cIreland\u2019s hidden electrical waste\u201d.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":336480,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[15763,246,61,60,43,63762],"class_list":["post-336479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-darragh-nolan","tag-environment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news","tag-st-patricks-day"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336479\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}