Auckland artist Elle Anderson has documented her contribution to landfill in a stunning photography project.

A Dirty Contribution shows the rubbish Elle produced over 100 days. She was drawn to the idea of taking part in a project for 100 days, as well as the opportunity to extract beauty out of rubbish.

She also learnt a lot about her own behaviour.

“Before this project I thought that my recycling efforts were pretty good. When shopping I was very conscious of what going into the trolley and how that would impact on my rubbish. In hindsight I realise that my efforts were only average.

“I started closely scrutinizing each item for possible recycling options, such as composting, burning or through the recycle bin. I even started to pull things apart, if there is a bit of it that can be recycled it would be deconstructed and each part would end up in the appropriate bin, bag or container.”

Elle says the project has opened her eyes to a variety of issues around rubbish including the need for manufacturer’s to become more responsible in the packing they use.

“I realised that basic recycling is easy, that refusing bags or more packaging is also easy, shopping consciously for items and questioning whether it is really needed is also easy. And that we can all start being good at these things.”