UW Recycling's seventh annual UW Trash Art Contest opens February 13! Participants must create an art piece from items normally thought of as waste. This contest is open to all UW students, faculty and staff.
Categories include:
- 2D art
- 3D art
- Textile art
Submissions are due March 27, 2026 at 4 p.m. Pacific Time (PT). Winners for each category will receive $100 or $50 e-gift cards to a low-waste shop.
The contest receives creative and impressive submissions every year. Check out the 2024 winners and submissions from past years.
How to Submit
Participants must fill out the online submission form by Friday March 27, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. PT
Contest Rules
Submissions that do not meet these requirements will not be considered.
- Artist(s) must be a current UW student, faculty or staff member.
- The art piece can be an individual or group project. Each participant may only submit one art project, whether it is a group project or individual submission.
- All entries must be original works by the entrant(s).
- Artwork should reflect the theme of waste & sustainability.
- The art piece must be submitted under one of the following categories:
- 2D (pieces that may be hung on a wall like painting, photography, collage or comic-style works)
- 3D (sculpture, model or other pieces that stand upright)
- Textile (art created predominantly from textile and fiber art techniques – like sewing, weaving, embroidery, knitting, crocheting, quilting, etc.)
- Artwork must be primarily composed of waste (recycled, salvaged or collected litter materials).
- Submissions to the 2D category can use photography of their own recycled, salvaged or collected litter (not stock photography) in their artwork. Greg Olsen’s 2024 piece, The Messy Batcave, is an example of how a comic-style piece can use recycled and collected litter materials.
- The use of generative tools such as artificial intelligence (AI) or similar technologies is strictly prohibited.
- Submissions must be created from individual’s personal waste or collected litter materials. Material purchased with University funds, regardless of condition, cannot be used for this contest. Artists must not take or use material from campus waste containers or “dumpster dive”. Submissions that use material from campus/public waste areas or material purchased with University funds will be ineligible to win or receive a prize.
- All art pieces should be safe to handle and display (no hazards, etc.). Submissions must adhere to the UW Libraries Exhibits Policy and the Safety & Display Expectations of Odegaard Undergraduate Library Exhibit Space.
- The art piece may not be a work previously submitted to the UW Trash Art Contest.
- Physical art pieces larger than 40 inches in height, length or depth may not be displayed in the art exhibit due to space constraints. If a winning piece is larger than 40 inches, a photo of the art piece may be exhibited instead.
If you’re unsure of which category to submit your art to, please email recycle@uw.edu. The UW Recycling team would be happy to help you.
Judging Criteria
Each submission must include: photos of the artwork, a written artwork description and an artist statement to be considered for judging. Submissions are judged based on the following criteria:
- Creativity/Originality
Does the artist's material usage show creativity? Did the artist give the materials new context? Were the materials transformed in any way? How much material was used? - Visual Impact & Quality
Is there evidence of thought put into the art piece? How does the artist demonstrate skill? Does this submission make you feel something/appeal to your emotions? - Interpretation of Theme
Is there a clear description included with the piece? Does the description fit the sustainability and waste theme? Does the physical artwork convey the theme? Does the description align with the visual artwork? Does the artist express a specific thought/meaning? - Relevance to personal and/or the UW campus waste
Does the response mention the artist's personal waste or waste on campus? Does this response provide deeper meaning to the art submission?
Prizes
Each winning entry will receive one e-gift card of their choosing to one of the following locations. 1st place winners for each category will receive a $100 e-gift card and 2nd place winners will receive a $50 e-gift card.
- A Drop in the Ocean (Tacoma)
- PUBLIC (West Seattle)
- Ravenna Refills (University District, Seattle)
- Seattle ReCreative (Seattle)
- Refugee Artisan Initiative (Seattle)
Publication
Winning pieces will be displayed in an exhibit at Odegaard Undergraduate Library during the month of April.
All contest submissions will have their art piece, artist bio, and piece description highlighted on UW Sustainability’s In Our Nature blog, as well as UW Recycling’s Instagram. Submissions may also be featured on other University of Washington platforms.