1001 TONNEN

Exposition By Jessica Theis

Every year in Luxembourg, 1001 tons of material is tossed or dumped as litter - that's an average of 1,6 kilograms per inhabitant, with 216 kilograms of litter per kilometer strewn along the motorways and 103 kilograms per kilometer by the side of the country's smaller roads. Cleaning this up costs the country 1,2 million Euros per year. The number 1001 may sound like a tale reminding us of the dreamy stories of our childhood but in this story, it is a reality.

With my camera I have been capturing all the junk that people leave behind: from the bathtubs they dump in the forest to the rubbish they leave behind after an outdoor barbecue to the cigarette butts and cans they toss out of car windows. While shooting this I have been trying to figure out why people do this, why people seem to have so little respect for the environment. I had countless meetings with people dealing professionally with the issue, did research into the numbers, the psychology, and the daily reality of littering and the fight against it.

To create awareness about this issue I created a book and an exhibition, a campaign along the highways and organize a Take Action Day as well as a travelling exhibition for schoolchildren around the country. The project is also included in the Esch2022 European Capital of Culture.