Litter pickers create sculpture using 4,500 vapes

The sculpture has travelled across Plymouth since June

A litter-picking group in Plymouth has created a sculpture out of the 4,500 disposable vapes volunteers collected last year.

The five-foot (1.5m) sculpture of a seahorse - named The Ballad of Lost Mary - has been shown across the city since June with its final stop being Plymouth Railway Station.

The founders of Clean Our Patch Community Interest Company (CIC), which created the sculpture, said it was set to be disassembled and the vapes recycled.

El Clarke said it was symbolic of not only the blight of the vapes but also the blight of single-use items within society.

El Clarke (left) said there has been a decline in the number of disposable vapes collected this year compared to 2023

"We created a five-foot sculpture out of the vapes to signify the environment and there is a hand which goes through the middle of it and a seahorse on top to signify it rising above the litter and rescuing those endangered animals across our world," she said.

"We used polystyrene we litter picked and the artists used some other bits and pieces to create the sculpture."

A total of 4,500 disposable vapes collected by volunteers were used for the sculpture

Talking about the number of disposable vapes collected last year, she said: "It is crazy numbers.

"Fortunately, we are starting to see a lot less of them this year which is really good especially leading up to the ban in 2025.

"We are hoping by the time that comes in they will be somewhat obsolete."

'Big community project'

Ms Clarke said the next project, in collaboration with Great Western Railway (GWR), was for people to create trains out of recyclable material to be displayed next year.

"It can be anything train-related," she said.

"We are going to collect those and make a collage out of them which will be displayed at the train station next year."

She said a date had not yet been confirmed and anyone could take part, adding it was a "big community project".

The community group said it was also using a £15,000 grant from GWR's customer and community improvement fund to "continue its fight to clean up and educate communities across Plymouth and South Hams".

The founders of the litter-picking group said the sculpture represented the blight of single-use vapes

GWR West Regional development manager David Whiteway said the funding was a "fantastic opportunity to invest in its local communities - in projects that make a difference.

“We have supported Clean Our Patch on previous occasions and seen first-hand the brilliant work they do to educate and help to clean up our local communities."