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G7: 'Mount Recyclemore' of leaders made from electronic waste in Cornwall

BBC Statue of G7 leaders made of electronic wasteBBC
The G7 Leaders (L-R): Boris Johnson, Yoshihide Suga, Emmanuel Macron, Mario Draghi, Justin Trudeau, Angela Merkel and Joe Biden

A sculpture of the G7 leaders shaped like Mount Rushmore made of electronic waste has been erected in Cornwall ahead of the G7 Summit.

It has been named "Mount Recyclemore" and bids to highlight the damage caused by the disposal of electronic devices.

Sculptor Joe Rush said he hoped it would show they needed to be made more easily reusable or recyclable.

He said: "It needs to be repairable or made to last longer because the stuff is going into landfill."

Mount Recyclelmore
The sculpture is made up of electronic waste

According to a United Nations report, more than 53 million tonnes of e-waste was generated worldwide in 2019 - over 9 million tonnes more than five years earlier.

The seven leaders depicted in the sculpture are UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Joe Biden.

Mr Rush, who was commissioned to create the artwork by musicMagpie, explained the highly-visible location for his piece was chosen across the water from the Carbis Bay Hotel, where the summit is due to take place this weekend, in the hope those depicted would notice "when they fly over".

"We have this looking at them and hopefully we're going to prick their conscience and make them realise they're all together in this waste business.

"The key message is 'talk to each other' and let's sort this mess out," Mr Rush added.

Joe Rush
Sculptor Joe Rush said electronic devices must be made longer lasting and more repairable to reduce e-waste
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