What do you do with an old bike rotting in the garage?
You keep it for a few years until one day when you finally decide to give it up. Either by selling it to someone or by dumping it somewhere, right? The bike ends up in a landfill/dumpyard either way.
Guess what, you’re not the only one who is creating metal waste. In fact, 4% of total global waste composition is metal.
The sad part is, unlike organic waste, this doesn’t get decomposed. As a result, metal waste end up filling junkyards, land-fills, and garages, creating an ugly mess.
It’s sad, isn’t it?
However, there are ways. All metal waste not necessarily end up in the junkyard. They can be recycled and upcycled to make something better like Deval Verma’s sculptures and statues.
Deval Verma | The Metal Scrape Artist
Deval Verma is the man behind the “Trash to Treasure” line. He surprised the world in several ways. On the one hand, he challenges the meaning of art itself, and on the other, he starts a revolution in the climate-crisis-fight.
Although underrated, it’s still true that Verma is one of the greatest minds of current time. If not as an environmentalist, his name is surely going down in the history of art for revolutionizing a new medium.
Mr. Deval Verma is a resident of a small city in India–called Indore. As described by the artist himself, he was a shy kid with self-esteem issues. He stammered and often found himself lacking confidence. However, like most reserved children, he also found his way of expression.
He was an avid fan of science fiction. His curious mind enjoyed movies like Harry Potter, Iron Man, and Terminator. Being a creative child, he was attracted to the sets, costumes, and the designs, instead of the characters and plot. When he was in 10th grade, Mr. Verma designed his first metal art–a motorcycle.
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In a TedTalks speech, Verma confessed that the science fiction moves, which he enjoyed so much as a child, was the doorway to Mechanical Engineering for him. Although academics didn’t attract the trash-to-treasure man, machines did. It was during his college days when he began playing with nuts and bolts, and learnt how to glue them and weld them.
After graduating as Mechanical engineer, Deval Verma had several job offers in his hand. Instead of taking a job and settling down, he chose an offbeat career path, which most of us didn’t hear. His first project as a professional metal artist was with the motorcycle merchandise–”Harley Davidson”.
Now, Deval Verma is an established name. From government projects to interior decor, this man has taken “taking trash, making treasure” on another level.
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Deval Verma, now, leads a life where his primary responsibility is to walk from garage to garage and pick abandoned metal. Till today, he used more than 7,000 kg of metal scraps for his art. Recently, he has also up-cycled e-waste and plastics into a Boeing-777, setting an example for the whole world.
If Verma alone could up-cycle 7 tons of metal waste, imagine what is possible if we all join hands? Yes, everybody can’t create a piece of art from junk, but we can dump waste responsibly.
Final Thoughts
Once a wise someone said, “Live and let live”.
While we’re all busy living our lives, we should also think about our planet’s life. The waste we produce daily and how we manage it directly affects the planet and the lives of the creatures living on it.
So, let’s take inspiration from geniuses like Deval Verma and be responsible individuals. Remember,
When you refuse to reuse, it’s the Earth you abuse.