Artists Beautify Huntington Beach, Calif., with Decorated Dumpsters

Huntington Beach, Calif., is now home to 30 unique and artistic dumpsters thanks to Dumpsters on Parade, an event created in partnership by the Huntington Beach Public Art Alliance and Republic Services.

The Huntington Beach Public Art Alliance, which has a mission to beautify the community through art on what’s considered publically viewed spaces, approached Republic, its waste and recycling hauler, about hosting a dumpster decorating competition and parade after finding success with its utility box decorating competition.

“Republic was on board from day one,” says Kim Kramer, co-founder of the Huntington Beach Public Art Alliance. “The company said yes to everything that we proposed, and we received great support from Jeff Snow and his team throughout the entire process, which took about three months.”

For the competition, 85 artists submitted 155 designs, which were put through an internal elimination process to narrow the designs down to 60. Those 60 designs were posted online for a public vote and again narrowed down to 30 finalists. The 30 finalists were provided with up to $200 for paint materials, meals throughout the competition process, white, primed dumpsters courtesy of Republic, access to Republic’s Environmental Campus and paint booth and a chance to win a $5,000 cash reward.

“The project started when we were in the midst of beginning the new L.A. commercial franchise system, and our suppliers really pulled off some miracles to help us get the dumpsters we needed in time for the event,” says Jeff Snow, municipal relationship manager at Republic Services. “We knew that we had the resources to make this event happen in a bigger way, and our staff worked really hard around the clock to ensure that the artists had everything they needed to complete their projects.”

For nearly two months, the artists worked in Republic’s paint booth to complete their dumpsters, which were topped off with an anti-graffiti sealant that was donated by Avery Dennison before hitting the streets on October 7 for the Dumpsters on Parade event.

At the event, city leaders and community members pushed the dumpsters down a parade route and gathered together to host a canned food drive to benefit Waste Not OC and The OC Food Bank. The event drew approximately 5,000 people, and the dumpsters are now placed throughout the downtown area for use.