Marble Arch replica made from West End rubbish

Renowned artist Miguel Romo, who has 10 years of producing world class art projects involving recycling and reclaimed objects, built the mini arch over the course of a day and it will now remain on public view for 10 days.

Westminster City Council, with the help of partners the New West End Company and Veolia, commissioned the piece, at no expense to the taxpayer, to launch the Your Streets Campaign.

The arch was completely made out of litter collected from Oxford Street, Regent’s Street and Bond Street in one day – a total of 120 bags.

The key part of that initiative is to make people aware that the solution to litter is all about taking responsibility for their own actions.

The arch installation is designed to show how much litter is dropped everyday despite all the bins that Westminster Council provides, and the mess it would cause if it wasn’t for the hard work of street sweepers.

Cllr Ed Argar, cabinet member for city management, said: “Clean streets have always been one of the key priorities for Westminster City Council, and will always remain so.

“The council is committed to helping people do the right thing. We have a top quality street sweeping service, but it is time for fresh thinking about how we can all play a part in adopting a more environmentally responsible and financially sustainable approach.

“What this event highlights is a very serious message. It is about what the council and its partners have to do to keep the streets clean and pleasant, but also more importantly what residents and visitors can do to help.”

Veolia’s contract manager in Westminster, Scott Edgell, said: “This is a great initiative that emphasises the huge amount of work we put into keeping the streets of Westminster clean.  We hope that it will make people think twice about how they dispose of their litter.”

Richard Dickenson, CEO of New West End Company, added: “London’s West End is the busiest shopping district in Europe welcoming over 200 million visits each year and managing this number of visitors is a huge challenge. Cleanliness and image is key as we are the shop window to the world.

“Keeping our streets clean and safe is what we deliver everyday working closely with our businesses and Westminster City Council. Visitors also have a role to play and sometimes need to do more. This campaign highlights an important message and with the eyes on the world on us in 2012 we need to get the basics right.”

Artist Miguel Romo said of the project:
 
"The whole purpose of this project is to help raise awareness on the social and moral responsibilty that we all have to our environment. 
 
"I hope that by creating this sculpture right in the heart of London people can realise that a small effort from everyone could make a really big change.
 
"Other councils should follow suit and highlight the importance of addressing the widespread damage that litter inflicts on our communities."

For more information
www.westminster.gov.uk